


Nightmares to Secrets to Heroes

by Scarycrown121



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Adventure, Comedy, DJWifi, F/M, First Love, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I have created a monster, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Romance, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, What Have I Done, canon and non-canon, djwifi centered fic, ladrien, lots of puns to come, multi-chapter, plz let me live, puns, there are no djwifi fics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8680294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarycrown121/pseuds/Scarycrown121
Summary: When Alya learns a shocking secret about the identity of a Miraculous Holder it's up to her to decide what to do with the information. In between romance and adventure, she finds something mystical calling to her...telling her to face her fears and seek justice against evil forces. She must choose her path, and decide whether to expose truth or become one with illusions. Can she become the Fox? Or will her righteous nature force her into the light?
DJWIFI CENTERED FIC with Vopina headcannons. Please bear with me, I have too many emotions and not enough fanfiction being written about my salty children. Leave kudos or comments if you have the time! I would love to improve my writing!!!





	1. The Nightmare Starts

_She flicked her hands almost lazily across her phone screen and two glowing purple locks spring out toward Ladybug. The helpless girl, unable to dodge, ruthlessly pinned to a wall by the locks, let out a guttural yell. Ladybug struggled, but the cellphone wielder knew she was as powerless to her akuma magic as any other human. She scoffed at the futile attempts and sauntered forward._

_Confidently , she flicked up the video feed and broadcasted to the pathetic Parisians as she chuckled inwardly about her triumph._

_“Who is Ladybug?” she said to the camera. “Is she a superhero or a super weirdo? How can we trust the girl when we really have no idea who she is?”_

_Finally, finally, she strode toward the heroine pinned to the wall like an insect and reached for her mask._

_When she peeled it off, all she saw was blood._

_\-------_

Alya jumped up from her mattress gasping in terror and clutching at her bedsheets. Her panting and sweat remained as the only evidence of what she rememberd: a nightmare.

And if she’s being honest, it is not the first.

Her breathing slowed and she glanced around the room. The thin light from the streetlamps did little to quell the fear still raging inside of her, a fear that she knew all too well. The counselor she had seen after the possession told her how to deal with what she would experience and what was expected to come.  Just like blacking out from too much alcohol akuma memories returned in forms of flashbacks and nightmares.

 _God, what I wouldn’t give for a drink right now,_ Alya thought as she rested her hands flat on her sheets and tried to breathe. That counselor didn’t know shit. That counselor had never been attacked by an akuma.

From all she could remember about others who had been possessed by akuma none of them had ever mentioned nightmares.

Alya sighed and looked at the digital clock by her bed: 2:47AM.  

 _Fuck,_ she thought to herself, _this is the second one tonight and I have five hours until I need to be up._ Realizing that sitting in a mound of her own sweat would not help her, she climbed down from her bed and pressed her feet against the floor.

One of the advantages to being the oldest sibling was that she had a room of her own, but now she would give anything to have someone distract her from her thoughts.

 _Marinette might be awake_ , her brain told her.

But Marinette could _not_ hear her like this. She bit her lip and stifled a sob.

“Of all the dreams to have, why the one where I could have ruined everything,” she muttered to herself. “It’s not like I idolize her and respect her privacy or anything.”

Using sarcasm on herself did little to take away the sting of regret that flooded her whole body. After all this time, she still felt guilty for falling prey to Hawkmoth and her insecurities. All the counseling in the world and all the group talks with her other akumatized classmates was never going to fix that.

She had let Ladybug down, let Paris down, and she had not been conscious for any of it.

For an aspiring journalist and justice seeker this was by far the worst blow she could have delivered to the people of Paris. This, or completely destroying her best friend, Marinette’s, or her own family’s lives.

Alya sank down into the chair she’d placed in front of her window and stared out at Paris as the tears began to fall. It didn’t help that there was no one she could talk to about this, no one who knew what she was going through. True all the victims felt guilt for their actions, but none of them blamed themselves, only Hawkmoth.

 _Hawkmoth_. Just the thought of him made her exhale in panic and feel nauseous. He had violated her. Violated her mind and her thoughts and twisted them for his purposes. She had been puppet to his plans more than once, and after Manon had reformed her into Lady Wifi the nightmares had begun. Twice now he had changed her into a vile thing. A sick version of her worst thoughts and darkest moments. She could hardly stand to look at her reflection in the mirror anymore for fear that purple butterflies would appear around her eyes again. Or worse still, that Lady Wifi would clothe herself in her body and take it on a joyride.

Alya swallowed and continued to stare out at the night sky. Her section of Paris was well lit, so it was hard to sleep, but very easy to spot two particular heroes bounding over rooftops. She had lost count of how many times Ladybug had swung on her yo-yo not two streets away. She knew Chat Noir and Ladybug patrolled this area semi-regularly but as to why she had no idea.

There had never been an akuma attack within two kilometers of her home, and forensic evidence washed away with each Miraculous Cure that Ladybug produced. They had no reason to go by here, and yet they did. They ran when no one but Alya could see them, protecting the sleeping citizens of Paris from evil. The only reason she knew about the patrols near her was because of her obsession over everything Ladybug. She doubted anyone else but Hawkmoth himself knew of their route here.

For a few minutes, her eyes scanned over the rooftops, but nothing jumped out at her. Apparently the dynamic duo had decided to take the night off. Unfortunately, since seeing one of these patrols would have made her feel at peace after the nightmare, not seeing it put a damper on her already tumultuous mood.

Nervously, she tapped her feet and glanced at the clock: 3:04 AM.

_Looks as if I am going to be awake for a while._

\-----

As she crossed the threshold of _Françoise Dupont,_ Alya stifled a yawn before turning to the lockers. Her mother always insisted on being early to _college_ but after a sleepless night, she wished for nothing but the warm embrace of her comforter.

Knowing that Marinette will most likely be late, she directed her tired gaze to the other girls in the locker room. The only girls from her class present among the locks were Mylene Haprele and Juleka Couffaine, speaking quietly to one another and smiling.

Mustering up her reporter enthusiasm, Alya turned to them with a smile plastered on her face and walked over.

“ _Bonjour!_ How are you this morning,” she said as she slid in next to them.

Both girls smiled back and greeted her before Juklea turned with an amused expression to Alya.

“Did you know that Chole wrote about Kim in the bathroom?” she asked, trying to hold in a smile.

Alya’s lips quirked upward naturally for the first time that day. “What did she write?”

Mylene giggled and continued, “She meant to say ‘Kim is not hot and pathetic’ but instead she wrote ‘Kim is hot hot and athletic’”.

Alya snorted and glanced towards the girl’s bathroom nearby. An idea forming already, she scratched her finger under her chin deviously and winked at the girls, “How many euros do you think Kim would pay to see that in Chole’s handwriting?”

Juleka and Mylene’s grins were earsplitting.

\-----

By the time first period rolled around, Alya had already seated herself in her usual desk in Ms. Bustier’s classroom and was waiting for Marinette to join her. Nearly all the class had flooded in after the first bell, but the small spunky entity she called her best friend had yet to appear. Alya glanced at the two empty seats in front of her, concluding that all of her close friends had joined the _I forgot to set my alarm_ club.

Just as she began to think of a quirky catchphrase to give them, Nino raced into the room and made a beeline for his seat. The DJ looked pleased as he turned around to face Alya and she arched her brow in unspoken question.

“Did you get it?” she asked, placing her hands on the edge of her desk in anticipation.

Nino smirked and leaned towards her desk. “What do you take me for? An amateur?”

Alya could tell that through the bravado he was barely containing his excitement, and as he reached into his bag he pulled out the item in question: a beautiful spanking new miniature sound board made by GearGrinders.

“Worth. Every. Penny,” he stated as he placed it on her desk for inspection. “I had to save up for three months doing chores for my parents and make it to the store before school started, but I think you can agree that payoff overrules the cost.”

“Geez, Nino,” Alya said as she lightly ran her fingers over the white surface, “you didn’t say it was going to be this pretty.”

“Figured you would want to see it for yourself, fellow tech lover,” he said leaning on his chair “And I think we can agree that if something is expensive it has to be pretty, I mean, think about Adrien.”

Alya snorted and glanced down at Nino, “So by definition, you’re cheap and unhandsome?”

“I prefer the term ‘lowkey’” he said wiggling his eyebrows. “But you can call me ‘awesome’ instead.”

Halfway through opening her mouth to retort, Nino leaned back to her and reached up for the keyboard brushing her hands in the process. It was a light touch and accidental, but as Alya looked down at him, she could swear his cheeks were tinged in red.

“So, um, since this is new and I just got attached to it,” he said, his eyes holding hers, “do you wanna maybe…test it out with me sometime soon?”

One glance at his golden irises and Alya got the feeling he wasn’t just asking about the sound board. She grinned and playfully flicked his red cap with her index finger.

“That sounds like fun! How about Saturday?”

Nino smiled and bumped her fist against his, “It’s a date!” he said excitedly.

Alya smiled and was about to tell him about the bathroom graffiti when a scene in the doorway caught her eye.

“Oh man,” she whispered to Nino, “would you take a look at that.”

Nino turned and snickered along with her, for in the doorway were their best friends. Their two very, dorky, clumsy, socially inept best friends. It appeared as though Marinette and Adrien were in the midst of a politeness war where each would offer the other to step through the doorway first, only to bump into each other multiple times as they collided. Marinette’s face was as red as a bakery oven, but Adrien seemed more confused than anything. After the fifth attempt, Marinette charged through the door and practically darted to Alya, embarrassment written all over her face.

Nino winked one last time at Alya and turned around to greet Adrien as Marinette plopped into the seat next to Alya.

” _OhmygodIcan’tbelieveIjustdidthatI’msuchanidiotohmygod,_ ” was Marinette’s greeting to Alya, and the redhead simply chuckled before pulling Marinette into a hug.

“Oh Mari, you’re absolutely wonderfully hopeless.”

“Uh, I know. A decent night’s sleep, a cute outfit, and a plan for conversation result in stammering again,” Marinette wined quietly and dramatically slumped over Alya’s lap. “Whatever shall I do?”

Alya laughed again, “You could start by making eye contact, you know?”

Marinette groaned into her lap as Ms. Bustier marched primly into the classroom. “ _Bonjour,_ class! Look alive!” she said as the second bell rang. “This week is packed with final examination preparation, and I don’t want my class to be the last ranked students in the whole _college_.”

She reached into the folder she was holding and brought out a piece of paper. “I’ve divided you all up into pairs to help each other study for the examinations, when I call your name, find your partner and I’ll hand you a review sheet for the topics that all your teachers will be testing you on.”

She paused and glanced down at the list before addressing the class again, “It would also be helpful in the interest of time, that any complaints you may have about your study partner be kept to yourself until I’ve finished reading the list.” Her eyes swiveled unconsciously to Chole, and Alya could only assume that the comment was directed at her. Who else would raise such hell?

“The pairs are as follows: Kim and Sabrina, Juleka and Rose, Mylene and Max, Chole and Nathaniel, Ivan and Alix, Alya and Nino, and Adrien and Marinette.”

Alya nudged a stone faced Marinette with a devilish grin and turned to Nino in front of her. “Any chance you wanna make that date into an extended study session?” she asked wiggling her eyebrows.

Nino laughed and punched Adrien in the shoulder, “We could make it into a group session if you want” he said mock seriously, “some of us could use a little more eye opening if you know what I mean.” Not subtly, his eyes flicked over to Adrien and Marinette and then back to Alya.

In that moment, Alya came to the realization that Nino was literally a perfect human.

\-----

As she headed to her next class, Alya chatted idly with Marinette, knowing that they would have to part ways soon. “I can’t believe you got paired with Adrien,” Alya gushed teasingly. “And by Ms. Bustier too!”

Marinette stumbled as if in a daze and smiled dreamily, “Ah! Imagine it Alya! This could be what finally brings us closer! I can’t wait!”

“I bet Ms. Bustier put you together for a reason,” Alya said. “She must know that you’re meant to be.”

“Yeah…or she knows that Adrien is the smartest one in the class and can make up for all the information I miss when I’m late.”

Alya scoffed as they turned around the hallway corner. “As if, that boy is absent almost as much as you are with all of his private lessons and photoshoots. She totally ships you two, I bet all the teachers do that pairing shit for a personal reason.”

Marinette blushed shyly but raised her eyebrows coyly. “What does that say about the fact that she paired you and Nino?”

Alya was not one to blush, but the mention of a certain DJ certainly did make her heart flutter a little and she smiled. “Obviously she recognizes the awesomeness of two individuals and paired them together for maximum awesomeness,” she said in a joking tone. “Besides, she knows Nino and I work well together, she gave us the approval for the movie we shot in her classroom.”

Marinette tutted and gave Alya a brief hug as they reached her classroom. “Promise me you’ll at least help me figure out a way to talk to Adrien?” she said smiling.

“What are friends for?”

They waved and parted ways as Marinette stepped into her class and Alya started towards hers. Literature was not her best subject, but luckily, she shared the class with a certain blonde model who was more than happy to illuminate the themes of whatever book they were reading that week.

She slid into their usual desk tiredly, finally letting her exhaustion seep through now that Marinette was out of eyesight. The poor girl had enough on her mind with designing, crushing, and running late, adding concern for Alya’s sleeping schedule was not something she needed on her plate. Not yet at least.

Adrien joined her at the desk, prompt as always and smiling in greeting.

“Are you ready to learn about the amazing literary journey that is _Tom Sawyer_?” he said as he placed his bag on the table.

“Ugh, I wish” Alya said pulling her things out, “Between a sleep deprivation headache and the nonsensical words Mark Twain writes with I don’t think _Tom Sawyer_ could be counted as ‘an amazing literary journey’”.

“Oh ho, just you wait,” Adrien said, waggling his ring-fingered hand, “good ole Mark Twain can surprise you when you least expect it.”

A rumble suddenly shook the school and both teens gripped their desks. They turned to face each other just as the screams started.

“Akuma.”

\----

“Alya, please we have to find a safe spot to hide out!” Adrien said as Alya raced ahead of him down the stairs.

“Safe spot?” Alya said as she readied her cellphone. “The safest spot is Ladybug and she’s gonna be right where the akuma is.”

“I will ignore how good of a pun that was and once again try to remind you of personal safety. We don’t even know what the akuma is, you’re racing in there blind.”

Alya turned and raised an eyebrow “I never asked you to race in with me,” she said stopping him with a palm to his chest.  “I know this is dangerous, and I know that this could go really badly, but I’m a journalist, and damnit that’s the way that this job is. So you can come if you want, but know that you can’t talk me out of it.”

Adrien sighed and removed her hand from his front. “Fine,” he grumbled pinching the bridge of his nose, “but the minute shit starts going down, we leave.”

The readheaded journalist laughed and pushed forward, “Haven’t you figured it out yet?” she said racing to the courtyard “Shit always goes down when Ladybug and Chat Noir appear, that’s the best time to be there---”

As they rounded a corner, Alya suddenly felt a pair of arms push her and with a yelp she tumbled into a well-placed janitor’s closet.

“Hey!” she screeched and turned around just in time to see Adrien close the door. “What’s the big idea pretty boy? I have to get that story!”

The closet was pitch black, but Alya slammed her fists on the door until she found the doorknob. Locked.

“Sorry, Alya” Adrien said, muffled from the other side of the door, “but you need to stay safe.”

“Wait!” Alya yelled. “Unlock this friggin’ door, Agreste, or I’ll pound you with my fists instead.” Pressing her ear to the door and hearing nothing, she groaned in annoyance.

 _Great, now all my hard work to record akuma movement and patterns for the Ladyblog is going to be skewed,_ she thought knocking her fist against the side of her head.

_Is recording akuma activity for the Ladyblog or for you?_

Alya frowned at the little thought that wormed its way into her head. Now was not the time to be reflecting on her past, it was time to fix her mistakes for the future. Finally, after managing to turn on her phone’s flashlight, she searched the small space for something to unlock the door.

“Come on,” she muttered, running her hands over shelves. “There’s gotta be a key or a paper clip around her somewhere to unlock this friggin’ door…”

At last, after a few hurried minutes of searching shelves, her fingers wrapped around a spare key. Hooting slightly in triumph, she turned the lock and stepped out. Judging by the sounds in the air, the battle was wrapping up surprisingly quickly. She could hear both Ladybug and Chat Noir’s shouts over whatever creature was thumping around the courtyard.

She reached the entrance to the courtyard just in time to see Ladybug releasing a white butterfly and a younger boy molting black light. Ducking behind a trashcan, Alya pointed her phone inconspicuously at the famed duo. The two spent a brief moment to bump fists and make sure the victim was okay but in less than twenty seconds the heroine had playfully saluted Chat Noir and cast her yo-yo over the walls of the school, vaulting away again.

Alya sighed in disappointment, no fight footage, no exclusive interview, no questions answered. _Thanks a lot, Agreste_ , she muttured inwardly. But her thoughts perked up again as she turned back to Chat Noir. Maybe she could get an interview out of him?

She had just opened her mouth to call after him when he sped from the scene. Instead of following Ladybug, he headed deeper into the school, no one but Alya seeing him vanish.

Spurred on by the disappointment of a lost opportunity, she rapidly and quietly chased after him, hoping in vain to reach him before he left the school too. Except…it didn’t look like he was leaving.

Trailing him, even for a moment revealed that escape was not his intention. If anything, Chat Noir seemed like he was trying to get further into the school, towards the classrooms. Frowning at this sudden change in usual behavior, Alya ducked into an alcove just in time to see Chat Noir slip into a men’s restroom, an empty one judging from the quietness of this section of school.

Alya waited three minutes, but nothing happened. Sighing at last in utter annoyance at the fact that she had _nothing_ to report upon, Alya stood up straight and turned her phone camera off. Chat Noir had probably slipped out of the bathroom window by now to vault away. She didn’t even know why she thought following him here would be a good idea.

 _Great, nothing but one picture to write about_ , Alya thought while chewing the side of her mouth and gritting her teeth. _First I miss the akuma and now---_

“We need to be quicker next time, Plagg,” a voice said coming from the boy’s restroom.

Alya froze in the alcove. _He was still here._

“Anything could have happened!”

“Exactly, _anything_. So why are you so worried it’s going to be something bad?” came a second whinier voice. Alya’s eyebrows knitted together, she knew the first voice was Chat Noir, but she’d never heard this second person’s voice before. Who could be talking to Chat?

“You know better than I do that bad luck follows Chat Noir,” said Chat Noir’s voice. “If we hadn’t gotten there in time, Ladybug could’ve been hurt, or worse.”

A snort. “She handled it pretty well herself, she didn’t need us this time, kid, just like we don’t need her sometimes.”

“We always need her,” said Chat Noir said quietly, “We haven’t handled an akuma on our own yet.”

Another snort, “ _You_ haven’t.”

A groan, “Fine, you win, Plagg. For now. Now come on, I have to get back to class before anyone notices I’m gone.”

The bathroom door opened suddenly, and Alya’s eyes widened in absolute utter shock before she violently turned away, freezing against the wall that was hiding her.

A pause. Quick footsteps up the opposite hallway and stairs. Silence.

…26…27...28…29…30 seconds.

Alya slumped against the wall and slid to the ground in a crouch. She was screwed, so completely and totally screwed. She had seen his face, she knew his face, she knew who Chat Noir was. Her worst nightmares of revealing Ladybug to everyone swam before her eyes and the thought of accidental betrayal made her feel sick to her stomach.

_Adrien Fucking Agreste._


	2. Who Is Chat Noir?

All around the school were the sounds of footsteps and nervous chatter as the students headed back to class. With akuma attacks becoming more frequent and Ladybug’s cure fixing whatever damage occurred, the school had introduced an akuma policy guarantying parents that students would continue to learn despite interference. Hundreds of voices and bodies started to move towards the classrooms, but Alya stood shock still.

Her brain could hardly process what she had just seen. She couldn’t believe it. Was she still dreaming? There was no _way_ that the daring exuberant superhero Chat Noir could be her soft spoken behaved classmate and friend. But as Alya’s mind whirled in disbelief the pieces fell into place. How Adrien managed to disappear at every akuma attack, how often he excused himself to go to the bathroom whenever an akuma appeared across town, how his green eyes and hair could easily be turned into Chat Noir’s. Hell, she had suspected him months ago but put it out of her head when Marinette had suggested otherwise.

Alya’s hands shook and she glanced down the now crowded hallway. She needed to head back to class. Class with _Adrien_ who was _Chat Noir_.

In a daze, her feet moved and she robotically steered herself towards the stairs. Exposing his identity to the world was simply out of the option, her time as Lady Wifi had taught her that. But should she tell him she knew?

Their friendship was not as strong as the one she shared with Marinette or Nino, but he held a special place in her heart still. Would telling him change that? Would he suddenly feel as if he could trust her more or less? Would he be more open to talking about Chat Noir or would he see it as a liability and never mention it to her again? Would telling help him or hurt him?

Alya swallowed as her classroom’s door came into view. She had so many things to think about and not enough time to make a decision. She would see him any minute and she had no idea---

“Alya!”

A cold hand clenched her stomach and she turned warily to meet Adrien’s eyes as he barreled down the hallway towards her.

“I went to go check the janitor’s closet for you, but it was open, and oh my god, Alya, I’m so sorry about that, I just remembered Nino talking about how worried he was for you and I thought that you’d be safer and…sorry.” He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her innocently. “I really hope you can forgive me for missing out on Ladybug.”

She couldn’t tell him. Not yet.

Quickly, she pulled a bemused but annoyed expression on her face and waved her hand airily at him. “It’s fine, Adrien, I know you just want me to be safe.”

He shot a quizzical look at her, clearly this was not the reaction he expected. “Are you sure?” he asked “I know the Ladyblog means a lot to you, and it means a lot to me too, I don’t want you to forgive me if you think---“.

“Adrien,” she said, cutting him off midsentence with a forced smile. “It’s alright, you’re forgiven. Just let me know you’re about to shove me into a closet next time.” She started walking towards the classroom door, desperately trying to break eye contact with him before she lied. “It’s a shame I didn’t get very much footage of the attack, I only got there just as Ladybug and Chat Noir were leaving.”

“Did you ask them any questions?” he asked, sounding completely unaware. “What did you learn?”

_I learned that you’re Chat Noir._

“Not enough time to ask any questions, unfortunately,” Alya said as she sat back down at their desk. “I promise I’ll keep you updated though.” She looked up at him again to gauge his reaction. “I know how much of a fan you are of Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Adrien laughed, brushing off her comment with ease, “I’m more of a Ladybug fan to be honest.”

_Because you’re in love with her. Because you’re her partner. Because you’re Chat Noir._

“So are you saying you don’t like Chat Noir?”

Adrien shook his head. “I like Chat Noir just fine, but without Ladybug there would be no winning. She’s really the one that holds the upper hand in akuma fights. Chat Noir just guards her and breaks things.”

His voice got quieter towards the end of his statement, and anyone who didn’t know what Alya knew wouldn’t have noticed, but she did. _Does he really think that about himself?_ She wondered as she cocked her head sideways at him. Without all the bravado and the darker colors of Chat Noir, Adrien seemed an entirely different person. Perhaps it was easy for him to pass as a normal civilian when he thought so little of himself. At that idea, Alya frowned. How could someone who did so much for Paris and for Ladybug think of himself so poorly? It wasn’t right.   

“I think Chat Noir is pretty amazing,” she said, nonchalantly turning to Adrien. “He protects Paris just as fiercely as Ladybug, and the risks that he takes are drastic but they pay off. I don’t know why everyone sees him as second fiddle, he’s just as central to cleansing akumas as Ladybug. I don’t think she would be to even catch akuma without him.”

She tilted her chair’s legs and leaned back to appear casual. “I’ve seen their battles up close, and if you ask me, Chat Noir does a hell of a lot more than just break things.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien’s lips quirk up in the slightest smile before his expression changed again, wiped away, as if Chat Noir had never been there at all.

\-----

“Alya? You okay?”

“Huh?” Alya finally focused in on the conversation at hand with Nino, making bleary eye contact with him.

“You okay?” He asked, brows furrowing in concern at her quiet demeanor. “You’ve been acting weird ever since the akuma attack. Did something happen?”

Alya internally panicked, her pulse quickened and her palms started to sweat. How Nino could see through her so easily she had no idea. She turned to him and in that moment she wanted to tell him everything, but between her dreams and her knowledge of Chat Noir’s identity it seemed almost too much.

“It’s nothing,” she said, refusing to meet his golden eyes. “Just upset because I didn’t get to film any of it.”

Unbeknownst to her, Nino’s eyes narrowed and he frowned. It was unlike Alya to lie to him, but the fact that she had meant something serious was going on. They continued to walk down the hallway towards the library, having agreed to meet up with Marinette and Adrien to talk about studying.

Hesitantly, he reached his arm out and wrapped it around her shoulder, pulling her sideways into him. “You worry too much,” he said blushing lightly at the contact. “The Ladyblog is incredible, even without every recording of akuma. Besides, none of the major news networks picked up on it till after the fact, no one got the story.”

Alya nodded into his chest and bit her lip, her thoughts still a million miles away. This was one of the most delicate situations she had ever been in and she still didn’t know how to handle it. Not to mention that if she had figured out who Chat Noir was already, someone else was bound to figure it out too, and that was not a pleasant thing to think about. She needed to talk to Adrien, sooner than later, because the more she waited the more complicated it would become. Now it was just a matter of when to confront him.

As she and Nino entered the library, she caught sight of Marinette sitting nervously at a table with Adrien. _Oh right,_ she thought, her mind turning sour, _the boy my best friend has a crush on is in love with Ladybug_. Now the action of encouraging Marinette to confess to Adrien or doing anything else was tinged with a lie. The boy she liked wasn’t who he said he was. His whole life was a front, an illusion that Marinette had fallen into. She glanced to the boy next to her and sighed, Marinette wasn’t the only one who thought they knew everything there was to about Adrien Agreste.

At the sight of Alya and Nino, Adrien and Marinette both perked up and gestured at them to come over. “Alya! Nino! We need to figure out how to divide up the work for finals!” Marinette said with a red face. Being next to Adrien appeared to be overwhelming for her, and she was barely holding back stutters.

“I was thinking we could divide up all of the review into four parts,” Adrien said as they took their seats. “That way all of the work could be done separately quicker and we could all review it together.”

“Awesome!” Nino said, smile lighting up his face “We could all study together this Saturday! It would be so much fun! Snacks, study circles,” he turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Alya, “maybe some dancing and music afterwards?”

Alya laughed lightly and pushed his shoulder, “Don’t think the promise of a study break will get you out of doing any of the work,” she said. “We can all go out _after_ we study. I do want to pass my classes.”

“Where would we go out?” Adrien asked, a puppy-like look on his face, “I’ve never been dancing with friends before.”

“T-There’s a club a few blocks from my house,” Marinette said to him.

An idea stuck Alya, and she grinned. “What if we all meet up at Marinette’s to study and then go out to the club after?”

Marinette’s eyes grew wide at the suggestion Alya was putting forth. Studying at her house meant hours of time with _Adrien_ , something she would never pass up. Just as Alya started to feel excited for her, her mind brought forth a mental picture of Chat Noir and she instantly regretted her suggestion. Putting Marinette and Adrien together would be fruitless for Marinette.

Unfortunately though, her idea had become infectious among the group. “That sounds great!” Adrien said enthusiastically. “My house is only a few blocks away, so Nino and I can pop over to change and head back right after. As long as I tell Father I’m staying over to study at Nino’s he’ll let me go.”

He and Nino briefly bumped fists. “Nice, dude! Gaining a rebellious streak, I like it.”

_You have no idea._

Realizing she had to play it natural, Alya nodded along semi-enthusiastically and didn’t notice the worried glance Nino gave her.

____

“Oh Alya, what will I wear? How will I dance?? What am I going to do???”

Alya chuckled as she walked home with Marinette. By the end of the day her friend’s emotions had gone from stunned to excited to anxious. Worrying about what she was going to wear was the least of her troubles with finals coming up but the girl seemed to not have anything else on her mind.

 “Just try to relax,” Alya said, placing her hand encouragingly on Marinette’s shoulder, “everything else will come naturally, I promise.”

“Are you excited to see Nino?”

This time Alya barked a laugh with only a slight pink tinge to her skin, “Excited? I see him every day, Marinette.”

“You know what I mean.”

Alya slowed her pace and smiled to herself. “I’m looking forward to it of course,” she said, a vision of Nino’s smiling face already coming to mind. She shook her head, clearing it and trying to focus back on Marinette. “But I have other things too! I need to watch my little sisters most of this week, we have finals coming up, and the Ladyblog needs some serious updates.”

Marinette looked down and spoke, “I heard you didn’t get to interview Ladybug today. You okay?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Alya sighed, Chat Noir creeping back into her brain, “it just sucks that I work this hard to keep the blog up and I can’t even grab Ladybug for an interview when she comes to my school.” Scowling again, her mind brooded over Adrien and she glanced at Marinette. The brunette nodded along with her.

“That really does suck, I’m sorry. Maybe next time you’ll be able to snag her for an interview before she leaves?”

“Maybe. Honestly though, I would like to get an interview with Chat Noir. I have a few questions I want to ask him.”

Alya’s fervent tone made Marinette laugh. “You sound like a cop! ‘A few questions’ you want to ask… What did he do? Burn your house down?”

Force chuckling in front of Marinette was not something Alya wanted to do, but keeping Adrien’s secret meant she had to lie, whether she liked it or not. They neared the bakery and Marinette waved goodbye to Alya, promising to see her at school the next day. The minute the bakery door shut, Alya’s smile dropped.

With a sharp turn of her foot, she began to walk home, resolving to tell Adrien as soon as the chance presented itself. She could not lie to her best friend about a secret identity.

_____

Her phone buzzed and Alya’s eye’s snapped open. Groggily rubbing her temples, she sat up.

 _Homework, I was doing homework._ She glanced around and came to the realization that she had fallen asleep at her desk, halfway through the review packet that she had been assigned. Her laptop was still open, glowing softly on the Ladyblog as messages continued to stream into her feed. All were notifying her of the patrol of Ladybug and Chat Noir that night.

_Wait…night!!!_

Alya jumped up and looked at her clock: 10:20 PM

She groaned and quickly cleared off her desk. She hadn’t eaten anything since lunch so many hours ago. And now that she’d slept, she’d never fall asleep tonight.

She tore out of her room and down the hall towards her sisters’ room. Quietly turning the nob, she peeked in, looking to see if they were both asleep. Twin lumps under pastel covers told her that they were indeed sleeping and she shut the door again.

Turning to the kitchen, she grabbed the dinner her mom had left her in the fridge and set it in the microwave. Most nights her mom worked at the hotel leaving Alya behind to watch her two younger sisters. She tried to always leave food in the freezer for them to eat, but some nights Alya had to fend for herself and her siblings.

Pulling the now heated stew out of the microwave, Alya tiptoed back to her room and sat back down at her desk. Her phone buzzed again and she remembered what had woken her up: a message.

She had at least three texts from Marinette, all along the lines of planing for Saturday, one text from Adrien confirming his section of the worksheet, and two texts from Nino.

Quickly she responded to Marinette and promised she would help her with a plan tomorrow and thanked Adrien for doing his worksheet. Finally, her eyes scanned over the texts from Nino.

10:05- [Yo, the Ladyblog is blowing up right now! Check it out!]

10:27- [Hey I just realized that we planned to hang out Saturday but now we're doing the study group. Wanna hang out some other time instead?].

Alya smiled and texted back: [Haha, I guess we forgot! When's a good time for you? I'm pretty free whenever since it's dead week.] She sent the text and scarfed down her food, only looking up again when her phone buzzed.

10:49- [Actually, I'm in the neighborhood if you want to hang out right now?]

A flutter ran under her chest and mentally she counted out the hours till her mother would be home. After only a few moments of deliberation she texted him back: [Come on over ;) ]  
\-------  
A light knock on the front door floated through the quiet house. Alya jumped up, only quickly checking herself out in the mirror. Sweatpants and a tank top were appropriate clothes right? She padded down the hallway to her door and after a brief glance through the peephole, she opened it.

Nino smiled down at her, his headphones still faintly blasting music, "Hey little lady, care to let a wandering gentleman in?"

She laughed, moving to the side of the frame, "Come on in Mr. DJ." He paused to give her a hug on the way in, and as Alya pressed her nose into his chest, she breathed in. He smelled like summer.

Not needing directions, he led the way to her room, plopping his bag on the floor and pulling up the second chair to sit at her desk with her. That was one of the things she liked most about Nino, he seemed to know exactly how comfortable a person was around him.

"So what are you doing in my neighborhood so late at night," she asked, swiveling her chair to face him. "Wandering around listening to music in the dark?"

He grimaced a bit and took off his signature red cap to run his hands through his hair. "Not exactly," he began "but pretty close. I got in a fight with my parents and kinda left the house to clear my head. I've just been walking around trying to figure out what to do."

Alya frowned, it wasn't like Nino to fight with anyone, except maybe Chole. "What did you guys disagree on?"

Nino shrugged, but she could see beneath the air of nonchalance that he was hurt by whatever had happened.

"Nino..."

"Ugh, they were just on me about my music again," he said, frowning.

"In what way?"

His face contorted and with a shrill voice he imitated his mother, "'You're never going to get into University unless you're focused! Your grades are only as good as the time you study. No one gets scholarships for playing around on the computer with sounds.'"

Alya wrinkled her nose in distaste and clucked her tongue. "Well that's just bogus."

Nino's hands shot up in the air in annoyed agreement. "I know! Plus they don't get that University would be cool, but I'm just not interested in going right now. I'd rather take some time off to work on the music, but...they want me to be a chemist or something..."

" _You_? A chemist?" Alya said in an amused tone. "You'd look good in a lab coat, but I don't think I'd want to be around when you blow something up."  
Smirking at her, Nino tossed his cap from his wringing hands onto the desk. "You think I'd look good in a lab coat?"

Alya nodded smiling. "Very sexy. Very in season right now," she said in a mock serious tone.

"Maybe that could be my spinning name," Nino said, folding his hands behind his head. "Dr. Sexy DJ."  
Snorting, Alya shook her head. "Lame," she said, spinning her chair closer to his and bumping it playfully.

"You can do better than that."

"Sexy Spinner M.D?"

"Ew!"

"Disk Jockey of Love?"

"Ugh, I think that's worse than Dr. Sexy DJ."

Nino laughed, his troubles seeming to lift off his shoulders. Every minute he spent with Alya changed his mood from sour to happy. She was like the sun, energetic and bright, burning away all his problems and negative emotions. He would never be akumatized when she was around.

Alya swiveled again and swung her legs up onto his knees. Though they were separated by twin armrests on the two chairs, both felt their hearts speed up at the contact. As ridiculously comfortable as they were with each other around others tossing around affection and word play, saying and doing these things alone seemed a thousand times more intimate, more special between just them.

"I think you might have to keep searching for the perfect name," Alya said softly.

Nino reached out and brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Maybe you could help me find one," he murmured, "I could use the expertise."

Alya turned into his touch. Unconsciously, she leaned forward, closer to him. "Well I do have a lot of expertise..." she muttered lowly.

He moved closer, turning his head, "You should definitely teach me then," he said quietly, his breath tickling her lips. "I could do with some ideas."

She moved her hand to the back of his neck and brought him closer still. "I think I only have one idea at the moment," she whispered, brushing her lips lightly against his.

Her touch against him was slight, teasing, asking for permission. Enthusiastically, Nino fell into the kiss, closing his eyes and breathing her in. There was something about Alya that made him feel totally at ease, even when his heart was racing. Every touch or kiss they shared seemed as natural as air, as fervent as fire, as meaningful as prayer. He worshiped her lips, soft and right against his, moving with him.

After a few minutes, Alya broke away, looking flushed and pleased. Nino grinned stupidly, dazed from her kisses. She moved her legs off his lap and he started to frown in confusion, was she done kissing him already? His mind turned from disappointment to delight though, when she grabbed his hand and pulled him from his chair towards her bed.

Stopping for only a moment to remove her glasses, Alya turned to Nino again, placing her hands on his cheeks and drawing back to her lips again. He smiled into the kiss, sliding his hands down from her back to her hips. She flicked her tongue across his lips and he shivered into her.

Gently, Alya hooked her fingers around his frames and swept them off to join hers on the bedside table. Now without glasses, kissing and moving became easier, their faces tilting to fill in the space, and their lips sighing into each other.

Walking backwards, Alya led him to the bed and turned them around. Nino's legs hit the mattress and his knees buckled. Simultaneously, he fell onto the edge of the bed and pulled her with him, her knees folding over either side of his legs. Half sitting and lying against her pillows, they continued to kiss, their movements drastically different from the innocent kisses they had shared at her desk.

Alya ground her hips against him, teasing, and moved her hands together, sliding them from his shoulders to the bottom of his shirt, fiddling with the edge before sliding her hands under. She ran her nails over his bare chest, exploring where her eyes could not see. Not one to shy away, Nino clenched his hands against her hips, gliding down until he reached her ass. He squeezed gently at first until the gasp of pleasure that slipped from Alya's lips made him groan and squeeze harder, moving her hips against his.

Between the arriving summer warmth and the body heat, it was becoming increasingly hotter in Alya's small room, something the redhead could not stand any longer. Quickly, she grabbed Nino by the collar and hauled him up, using her other hand to grab the edge of his tee-shirt. In one fluid movement, she swept his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor.

Nino fell back to the pillows, only slightly surprised, and opened his eyes blearily. Though his vision was not excellent, there was no way he could ignore the beautiful sight in front of him. Alya, sitting over him, crossed her arms at the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off, her movement revealing a bare expanse of stomach and a thin bra.

He swallowed and followed his eyes’ path with his fingertips, gliding them along the sides of her torso. His touches were feather light but electric, leaving goosebumps and anticipation behind. He drank in the sight of her in the moonlight, her form eclipsing with the darkness of the room and leaving patterns of shadows along her bare flesh.

She took him in too, her nearsightedness no problem when he was this close, raking her eyes up and down his slender form. She watched him reach out to her in wonder and stroke his hands along her sides. This simple act rendered her speechless and shy, for instead of lustfully pulling her in, he caressed her gently. She felt as delicate as a china doll under his wondrous gaze, an unfamiliar sensation but a welcome one, and she blushed, revealing to Nino’s stupored mind how much of an effect he really had on her, bravado present or not.

When she leaned over to kiss him again, the sensation of skin against skin was nearly enough too much for either of them. The sudden feeling of heat and flesh spurred them forward, but their kisses slowed and Alya laid beside him, tangling her legs in his. They wound their arms around each other and pulled their bodies closer, intertwining their limbs as they lay in Alya’s bed. The moment turned from passionate to intimate in a split second and after a few minutes Alya’s lips pulled away and she stared at Nino softly, their noses touching and breaths mingling.

Nino’s eyes opened lazily and he smiled, rubbing his hand against Alya’s bare lower back, “You’re wonderful.”

“Mm.”

“And beautiful.”

“Mm.”

“And I like you.”

Alya glanced up at him and smiled before giving him a slow chaste kiss in the lips. “I like you too. And you’re wonderful and beautiful too.”

Nino chuckled, “Thanks,” he rumbled, “it’s not every day that someone calls me beautiful.”

“I’ll try to do it more often then,” she said snuggling into his chest and breathing him in. “You smell nice too.”

He shifted upwards and pressed his lips against her forehead. “You smell like a flower. Jasmine? Hyacinths? I don’t know.”

She smiled against his chest and hooked her hand over his hip. “Close,”’ she said, a bit muffled, “You need to go back to flower school though. It’s lavender.”

“You still smell nice regardless of whatever flower it is,” he said, nuzzling her hair with his nose. “I’d like you even if you smelled like a stinkbug.”

“I’d dump your ass if you smelled like a stinkbug.”

“That’s my girl.”

Alya’s eyes were closed and Nino’s breathing was lulling her into a drowsy state. “Nino?”

“Mhm?”

“Do you maybe wanna take a nap with me?”

“Mhm,” he mumbled, yawning against her head.

Alya nodded into him and let her mind drift off peacefully. Nino’s warmth and steady breathing matched hers and she felt herself slowly relaxing. Maybe tonight with the boy she cared for wrapped beside her she would sleep well at last.


	3. Visions and Yarn

A scream ripped through the silence of the dark room and Alya sprang up gasping. Her breath was ragged and she could still see the scene before her: Ladybug and Chat Noir laid low by her power, blood spattering the sidewalk where they fell. She could still fell the swipe of her fingers against her akumatized phone and the cruel words that had spilled from her lips.

Arms wrapped around her suddenly and she froze, another scream ready to spill from her mouth. Soft murmurs filled her ear and a warm body pressed against her clammy one.

“Alya, Alya its okay, you’re okay.” Nino held tight against her spurt of flailing and pulled her into him. “Shh, you’re alright, it was a nightmare, just a nightmare.”

“But I saw-I saw them and the blood- and there was just so much, and I couldn’t stop myself,” Alya sobbed, shaking against the arms that surrounded her. “I couldn’t stop myself…I couldn’t…”

Nino said nothing but rocked back and forth with her, whispering assurances in her ear until she finally began to calm down. The sheets were twisted around their bodies and Alya could feel Nino’s heart thumping against her chest. From its flutters, she could tell he was more worried than he was letting on. She had not told him about the nightmares, she hadn’t told anyone actually. His heartbeat told her exactly what she feared: she was making him worried over something that shouldn’t even be bothering her. She was inconveniencing him with her weakness, her visions that weren’t even true. She was a burden, a liability.

Fresh tears filled her eyes and she didn’t look at him. How could she? How could he even stand to be around her knowing how much of her confidence was false? How much she lied to everyone around her? Her tears spilled over.

A soft pair of lips pressed against her cheek and suddenly her tear track was gone. She turned in surprise to see Nino, looking down on her with one of the softest expressions she’d ever seen. He had put his glasses on and he gazed upon her with clear vision, seeing every tear, every fault on her face, and he had kissed her anyway.

His hand rubbed small circles against her back and he placed his lips against her forehead. “You were having a nightmare,” he whispered. “Are you alright?”

She sighed out shakily and leaned into him. “I thought I had killed her.”

“Who?”

“Ladybug.”

Nino’s rubs against her back stilled and he looked at her with a quizzical expression. “Why were you dreaming about Ladybu---“. His eyes widened and he swallowed in worry, “You’re not having dreams about…Lady Wifi? Are you?”

Alya stiffened and curled her fingers together on his chest. She _hated_ the fact that he could read her this well. “I’ve been dreaming about her for a while now,” she admitted. “I thought at first that maybe I was just remembering what happened when I was akumatized but---“, she broke off and hiccupped. It was getting hard to hold back tears now. “But then they started to change,” she continued quietly, “I started to hurt Ladybug and Chat Noir. I started t-to knock them down and then, then, they started to _bleed_. And now all I can see when I close my eyes is them bleeding out while I hold their masks over them. All I can smell is blood and all I can hear is Hawkmoth whispering in my ear about how much I _want_ this. How much I want to hurt them.”

She stopped then and the tears fell, she trembled against Nino. It had all been so real, it had felt _so real_. _How could I even imagine this without really thinking it?_

“I know you don’t think that,” Nino whispered and Alya stilled. She hadn’t realized that she had said that out loud.

“What I think,” Nino continued, “Is that having Hawkmoth in your head makes you think things and do things you don’t want. I think having a psychopath mess with your brain would leave it feeling pretty vulnerable and freaked out. I think that the things you think and dream are what Hawkmoth wants. Not you.”

“I know that you’re a caring, intelligent, courageous person, Alya,” Nino said, running his hands along her hair, “and I know that someone like you would never do that to anyone, especially Ladybug and Chat Noir.” He chuckled, “Hell, I thought all this time you were running around trying to get information on them because you admired them so much. I didn’t realize it was because you really care about them so deeply.”

An image of Adrien flashed into Alya’s mind. It was more than personal now for her.

“I care about them almost as much as I care about you, _mon amour_ ,” she whispered. “They’ve saved me more than once.”

She pulled away a bit and looked up at him. “Having dreams like this…it makes me wonder if Hawkmoth ever really left my head at all.”

Silence filled the room and Alya let her idea invade Nino’s mind. It was something she had never said aloud before. To be honest, the thought of Hawkmoth still being in her mind made her question her every step and movement. That was the problem with his control, once someone was in your head it was hard to push them out. Hawkmoth had crept into her brain like a shadow, twisting her true self and feeding off its thoughts and desires. He was like a pitcher plant, promising the sweetest nectar in return for death and destruction.

She had not known until he showed up how badly she wanted to know Ladybug’s identity, how badly she had wanted to prove herself. And now that he was gone her body lay fractured and empty, knowing its most selfish desires and being utterly disgusted by what she was willing to do for them. She was told she had been used, but had she been?

There had been a moment when Hawkmoth had _asked_ , asked for an even trade: A favor for a favor, Ladybug’s identity for the confiscation of the Miraculouses. And she had said yes. She agreed to help him.

The guilt ate her alive and revealing this thought to Nino now made her more curious than ever to know, had he been offered the same deal? Had he agreed to act in the name of destruction?

“Nino?”

He nodded, still thinking about her question.

“When you were…attacked, did Hawkmoth ever…ask you anything?”

Nino frowned. “He didn’t ask so much as tell me what to do, I think you’d remember.”

Alya bit her lip and continued. “I mean, did he ever offer you anything? Before you transformed into the Bubbler?”

A dark expression crossed Nino’s face and he turned away. His feet touched the floor and he paced away from her to the window, his posture stiff and closed off. Alya’s skin and heart suddenly felt cold, she hadn’t realized how much he would be affected by her question. _Though_ , she supposed, if Nino had asked her that question she probably would have reacted in the same way.

“Nino?” she asked, creeping out of bed after him. “Are you okay?”

“I remember,” he muttered, his hand pressing against his temples. “I didn’t realize I had forgotten…”

“Forgotten what?”

Nino bit his lip and dropped his hand, still facing the window. “I’d forgotten that he asked me to make a deal with him.”

Alya stiffened and looked up at him with a thousand questions in her eyes. “What did he offer you?”

He curled his hands into fists and turned to her finally, a pained and guilty expression on his face. “He told me that if I helped him get the Miraculouses…he would make all the adults disappear.” He frowned in disgust and pressed his forehead to the panes of the window. “I can’t believe that I agreed to work with him.”

“You agreed?”

Nino scoffed and closed his eyes, “Pretty pathetic, right?”

The tone of his voice shocked her. He had never sounded so…lost, unsure of himself. His confidence was visibly shaken. He hadn’t realized what he was agreeing to when he had spoken to Hawkmoth. He hadn’t known about the consequence of his promise. He had been just as manipulated as her. He was just as shaken by his actions as she had been.

She stepped forward in the dark and reached out her hand. Slowly, she touched his arm and he opened his eyes.

“I guess we’re both pretty pathetic then,” she said. Looking into his eyes she made a decision, a new promise to keep.

“I said yes too, Nino. I agreed. These dreams are a reminder of what I need to do now, I need to make sure he never controls me again. I need to do everything I can to ensure that I never feel that weak again, that exposed to his influence.” She took a breath. “That’s why I work on the Ladyblog,” she said. “I do it so that every day I can remember what I did and do everything I can to stop who did it. I am not giving up. I’m not giving into Hawkmoth ever again. And I know that you’re strong enough to do the same too.”

For a moment all was still, and then Alya was wrapped in the fiercest hug she had ever experienced. Nino clung to her, and dung his fingers into her sides. “How do you always know what to say?” he asked next to her ear.

Alya chuckled for the first time and pulled back to look at him. “I think the same thing about you,” she murmured and leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was short, and as Alya pulled away a flash of movement caught her eye.

Noticing her distracted state, Nino leaned in again. “What is it?”

“Turn around,” she said and left the comfort of his arms to step towards the window. “It looks like we’re not the only people trying to stop Hawkmoth tonight.”

Nino turned to the window again and wonder spread across his face. At this late hour, all of Paris lay still save for two small figures dancing over the rooftops. The glint of moonlight reflected off their black and red spotted suits and the flash of the cat’s baton followed the bug’s yo-yo line in almost perfect rhythm. Together the two heroes made their way over the skyline of Paris, moving in tandem and distantly laughing, vanishing over the next set of roofs as quickly as they had appeared.

____

“I still can’t believe that you actually managed to sneak me out of the house,” Nino said, shaking his head in disbelief. They were holding hands and heading in the general direction of school. After finally falling asleep again, Alya had woken up that morning realizing that she needed to sneak her full sized boyfriend out of the house without her mother noticing. Luckily, her mother had arrived home so late the previous night that she was still asleep when they woke up. The tricky part had been getting Nino past her sisters.

The twins were inquisitive, sometimes too inquisitive, and a hasty explanation about how Nino was her friend who had fallen asleep after studying would do little to sate their ravenous tattle-tale appetites. Alya suspected that a visit to Marinette’s pastry shop and a few hours of Princess Unicorn Sparkle Mage playtime would distract them though. Maybe…

“Don’t relax just yet, my dear,” Alya said, bumping her shoulder with his, “my younger sisters are notorious spoil sports.”

“Maybe I should spend some time with them then.”

Alya’s cheeks tinged pink. “Spend time with them?”

“Yeah,” Nino said, fiddling with his headphones and looking ahead, “If they saw me around, maybe they’d get used to it? It might make your mom feel more comfortable around me too…” He trailed off and glanced nervously at her, waiting for her reaction.

She smiled and squeezed his hand, “That sounds brilliant,” she said. Delight filled his eyes, and she nearly kissed him then and there. Meeting her family wasn’t something that she expected him to ask about, but it made her feel warm and tingly inside, like they were taking another step together, moving forward. She had in fact made the decision to kiss him when a shout from across the street caused them to turn.

“Nino! Alya!” they turned to see Adrien waving at them and crossing the street. They greeted him happily and as they exchanged hellos Alya was struck by how odd the occurrence was, normally Adrien’s driver took him to school.

Thinking along those same lines, Nino asked, “Where’s the fancy limo, man? Your old man finally decide that you could use your legs for something over than showcasing fancy pants?”

Adrien laughed and started to walk with them. “Actually, I made the argument to Piere that having a limo take me to school draws a lot of attention to where I am and that it may not be the best idea to do that anymore given the attack by Volpina. She knew exactly where I was because of how constantly he shows me off. It would be safer to walk four blocks to school with many eyewitnesses than take a limo four blocks with all the things that can go wrong. It took a while to convince him, but he actually listened.”

He looked genuinely surprised by this admission and Nino nodded along in agreement. “Dude, your dad never compromises. What changed his mind?”

Adrien shrugged. “No idea. I just figured I’d take advantage of it before he changes his mind again.”

Alya laughed, “As soon as you get out of all your modeling gigs you’ll really be a free man. But this is a good step! Maybe now you’ll get to spend more time…” she glanced up at him, “running around and doing what you like.”

Adrien grinned and his eyes slid to the other side of the street. “I think that sounds like a great idea, I could use more time for…” he trailed off and Nino and Alya followed his path of vision. On the other side of the road stood Marinette, waving and jogging to catch up with them. They were passing her bakery and the smile she gave them seemed as sweet as any pastry. She appeared to almost glow as she approached them, positivity and warmth flowing from her as naturally as could be.

“Hey Alya, Nino!” She blushed and turned to the blonde. “Adrien.”

Alya glanced up to Adrien and saw the boy looking at Marinette with an expression she hadn’t seen before. He seemed to be completely dumbstruck, his mouth slacking and his eyes widening, before his face transformed and she saw him looking happily down at her, his mouth quirking in an almost suggestive smirk before he greeted her, “Good morning, Marinette.”

Alya’s brow furrowed, the expression suited Chat Noir more than Adrien, and a black mask slipped invisibly onto his face. An undeniable confidence almost leaked out of him and he turned his head to stare lopsided at Marinette. “Stay up late last night?”

She blushed further, “Only a bit.”

“You texted me at like 2:00AM.”

Alya raised her eyebrows at his statement, this was new. Marinette texting him for anything other than school work was very unusual. “I needed your opinion,” she said and fell into step beside him, “I had to ask before I forgot---“, she halted in her speech and turned up at him suspiciously. “What were you doing up that late anyway?”

Adrien coughed awkwardly and Alya saw his eyes dart for an explanation. Realizing that during that time he had been running around in tight leather, Alya decided to step in and provide him with an excuse.

“Watching anime again, Agreste?” she said, shaking her head dramatically. “I’ve told you once and I’ve told you a thousand times, real high school is not like Japanese cartoons.”

Adrien snorted and relaxed, “Says you.”

“Bro I hate to break it to you,” Nino said leaving Alya’s side to throw his arms over Adrien’s shoulders, “But anime isn’t always accurate.”

“What?!”

As the boys chatted, Alya linked arms with Marinette and smiled. “So you were texting Adrien at two in the morning?”

Marinette giggled and glanced back at the blonde, “It’s no big deal,” she said grinning, “I feel more comfortable around him now.”

“Oh my god you’re totally more into him now.”

“Alya, really, when was I not into him.”

“True,” Alya said nodding her head and poking Marinette. “Look at you! You’re starting to be so confident!” She wrinkled her nose and laughed, “You should ask him on a date.”

Marinette turned red and glanced back in worry now, “What?! Ask him on a date?? Alya, I can barely handle the idea of going d-dancing with him.”

“Trust me,” Alya said as they rounded the corner to school, “You can do it! I believe in you.”

“You saw Ladybug and Chat Noir last night?” Adrien’s voice said, breaking into her flow of thoughts and pulling her into the boy’s conversation. “Where?”

“Near Alya’s house,” Nino said vaguely, eyes darting to Alya quickly and back to Adrien, trying to be casual.

“But I thought they were out around like 1:30AM? What were you even doing over there?”

Nino cleared his throat and looked at Alya. “I was with Alya, she has the best view for Lady-stalking.” 

“What were you doing at Alya’s house at nearly two in the morning?”

Nino blushed and punched Adriens shoulder, “Dude, not so loud!”

“What?” Adrien said rubbing his shoulder in confusion. “What did I do?”

Marinette’s eyes blew wide before she faced Alya, also red, and narrowed her eyes, smirking. “Yeah, Alya,” she said, a devilish grin breaking out on her normally sweet features, “What _were_ you and Nino doing alone at your house at nearly two in the morning?”

“Who said we were alone?” Alya said, laughing teasingly looking away from Marinette’s perceptive gaze.

Marinette looked extremely pleased with herself and looked back at Nino’s semi-bashful semi-satisfied expression. “You didn’t have to.”

Adrien looked around as they approached the steps, “Why was Nino at Alya’s house so late at night?”

“Dude,” Nino said turning and grasping Adrien’s shoulder, “Not to pull the homeschooled card right now, but seriously, man, if you were alone with a girl at 2:00 AM, what do you think people would think you were doing?”

Alya nearly didn’t see it, but as soon as Nino spoke, Adrien’s eyes slipped and fell onto Marinette, his cheeks colored with the lightest blush. A light seemed to dawn on him, and his face filled with sudden understanding. As quickly as he had looked, his eyes had returned to Nino and his face reddened.

“Exactly,” Nino said, “so unless you want to hear all the fun details,” he winked at Alya over Adrien’s shoulder, “I suggest that you may want to leave it up to your imagination.” 

\-----

"Your final review packets should be nearly finished now," Ms. Bustier said, addressing the class. "It is a lot of work, but nearly every question asked will be on one of your finals. It's important that...."

Alya tuned out as Bustier continued to instruct the class. Nino's visit last night, while very welcome, had really tired her out and she was having a hard time keeping awake. It was not often that she couldn't keep her eyes open in class and it was really throwing her off. With her irregular sleep schedule over the last few months it had become more and more difficult to keep up with her school work and pay attention in class. If something didn't change soon Alya's grades were bound to slip.

Her eyes drifted and fell onto Marinette's workbook. Glancing at the book was nothing unusual, the girls would often pass notes and look at the other's drawings in class. Most days, Alya's cartoonish doodling didn't interfere with class, but Marinette tended to zone out when she began to design resulting in many comments from teachers telling her to pay attention. Between her sleepless sewing nights, her school work, and her help around the bakery, Alya wasn't sure how Marinette could function. The girl fell asleep in class more often than she was awake.

Her talent was really developing though, Alya could tell. In the few years that she'd known her now, Marinette's designs had become crisper and more detailed. She pulled inspiration from everything around her: from the smallest doodle on the bathroom wall to the most recent akumatized villain.

Her eyes found Marinette's most recent designs, quickly sketched out before she could forget, all appearing to be along the lines of shorts and thin shirts. So she was starting her summer line. Alya's gaze passed over two or three ideas for shirts before she looked at what Marinette was sketching.

She started and her eyes widened in surprise. Marinette, who moments before had been designing summer wear, was now slowly drawing what seemed to be Chat Noir's costume.

Scratch that, she was drawing Chat Noir.

The journalist kept her silence and tried to do the same thing with her cool. Why was Marinette drawing Chat Noir? And in such great detail too? Alya looked at pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir regularly when she uploaded them to the Ladyblog, but even she had never noticed the particular buckle that Marinette was outlining on his suit, or the way that his tail seemed almost alive, even if on paper.

Knowing that Adrien was Chat Noir certainly made her more interested in the superhero, but going to the extent that Marinette was with detail was inconceivable. Even Alya wasn't that good at remembering, and she was Alya, the reporter who's life revolved around facts and known information.

Maybe Marinette's been looking at the Ladyblog? A small voice said in Alya's mind. Alya was inclined to agree, but a small feeling of doubt nagged at her. Marinette's face was relaxed, not concentrated, she was clearly drawing this as easily as some of her most inspired fashion ideas. Marinette was not one to fawn over Ladybug and Chat Noir the way Alya did, she seemed interested enough out of support for Alya, but her drawing stated otherwise. This drawing apparently was not something unusual for Marinette to see, meaning she _stared_ at Chat Noir quite a bit. Alya felt a smile creep up on her lips, the girl was more interested in one member of the superhero duo than she was letting on, and Alya's eyes slipped to the seat in front of Marinette where a particular boy sat.

Alya glanced at Marinette's drawing again and her thoughts turned serious. Even if it did seem funny, it was a pretty serious thing to know their identities, and Marinette seemed like the type of person that Ladybug and Chat Noir would trust.

Marinette _had_ been part of Chat Noir and Ladybug’s plans when they had fought the Evillustrator, but that was a long time ago. When Alya had asked Marinette afterwards how Ladybug had contacted her, Marinette had given a sound and nonsuspicious answer about how Ladybug had figured out the Evillustrator’s motives.  There was no reason to think that Ladybug was still contacting her or that Marinette knew Ladybug’s identity.

There was no way Marinette could know who they were, if she had any idea that the boy she'd had a crush on for ages was running around in tight spandex she'd explode before she'd known three minutes. Besides, Alya thought with a fond expression directed at the girl next to her, Marinette would never keep a secret that big from her. Even if she did know their identities, she'd tell Alya that she knew, not who they were. She was just the kind of person who knew when to trust people.

"Alya?"

Mind stuttering to a halt, Alya turned stone faced to Ms. Bustier. "Sorry, what was that?"

The teacher frowned and Alya felt the creeping fingers of a blush slide up her neck. "I was wondering if you could take this record of attendance to the Principal’s Office," she repeated.

Alya mumbled in agreement and slid from her seat before the blush could get any further. Swiftly taking the folder from Ms. Bustier and ignoring the snickering of Chloe she turned out of the room and headed towards the Principal’s office.

Halfway there however, she tripped over her laces and the folder spilled from her arms. Cursing quietly and tying her shoe, she glanced around at the damage. Spying the bundle of papers, now askew on the floor, she started forward, grabbing up the excess frantically.

In her hurry, she did not read any of the papers until the very end, when she reached the attendance sheet for the month, detailing her classmates’ absences and presences in all of their classes. Curiosity overcoming her, she looked up and down the hallway before pulling it out and examining it more carefully.

Just as she had suspected, a quick glance told her how often Adrien was out of class when an akuma was present. If there had been any doubt in her mind about his identity before, this confirmed it, he was Chat Noir.

A feeling of acceptance overcame her all of a sudden and she came to the realization that besides Adrien...she was the only one who knew his secret. The only person in the whole world that would worry about him whenever an attack happened, she was the only person who knew how vulnerable he was outside of his suit. Ladybug's face flashed before her eyes and she wondered for a moment if the hero knew really who Adrien was. For even if she knew his identity, did she really know the boy outside of the mask? The one Alya went to school with and talked to every day? Did Ladybug really know Adrien Agreste?

Her mind was suddenly consumed with new possibilities and she haphazardly shoved the attendance sheet back into the folder, not noticing in her rush the almost parallel absences between the boy in question and a certain brunette aspiring designer.

\-----

“You look tired Agreste,” Alya whispered over the top of her book. “I think you might be hitting the message boards too hard.”

Adrien peaked over his pages at her and swiveled his eyes nervously at the teacher and then back to her. “How did you know I was on the message boards that late?” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

“I’m the admin. You think I don’t know your username?”

Adrien snorted, “I’m just lucky you’re keeping my obsession with Ladybug to yourself,” he said. His eyes widened, “Wait, you are keeping it to yourself right? Because if Nino knows how bad it is---.”

Alya chuckled softly and shot him a devious wink. “Don’t worry, Adrien. It’s still our little secret.”

 _Among other secrets_.

“I’m surprised you had any time to see when I was on the message board,” he said, distancing himself from the topic she most wanted him to confess. “I thought Nino was over.”

“He was.”

“When did you even have time to check? I thought you and Nino would be way too…”

“Wrapped up in each other?” Alya supplied shooting Adrien a sinful smirk. “We were, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have time for other things, like checking in on the biggest Ladystalker…”

Truthfully, she had checked the messages in between periods, but she wasn’t going to let _him_ know that. His posts had been vague enough to seem interested, but multiple enough to be too interested. If she didn’t know better, she would think that Adrien too did not know Ladybug’s identity, even though he was Chat Noir.

“How did you even manage to sneak Nino into your house?” Adrien continued as Alya pushed her chair out. Clearly, he was not interested in more Ladybug talk.

“I mean, Piere has crazy security, but even if he didn’t I have no idea how I would sneak someone in. There’s Natalie, the household staff, Gorilla,” he listed off obstacles and tallied up on his fingers, “there’s no way I could even get in and out of there without being noticed.”

 _Unless you have super powers_.

“My mom works pretty late,” Alya admitted, placing her head in her hands. “She’s gone most nights and sleeps in most mornings, it’s easier than you think.” 

Adrien snorted and raised his eyebrows at her, “You guys aren’t doing this regularly are you?”

Alya rolled her eyes at his bluntness and faced him with a sarcastic tone, “No, my boyfriend and I never hang out in my house together or anywhere or kiss ever.”

“Really?”

“No, Agreste we can barely keep our hands off each other,” Alya said rolling her eyes again. “I really need to hang around you more so you can tell when I’m being sarcastic.”

“Sorry,” Adrien said a bit shyly and rubbed his neck, “I guess I’m just not used to people being so…honest and direct with me?”

Concern for the boy overcame her thin layer of annoyance, and she placed a hand on his shoulder, “I will remedy that immediately,” she promised and her brain told her to tell him she knew. She shook her head loose from that thought, and spoke again.

“I can promise that I will be honest and direct with you from now on,” she said instead. “So if there’s anything you want to ask, you should ask it now. But,” she raised a finger, “I will respond with a yes or no answer both for the sake of time and for Nino’s.”

Looking intrigued at the thought of Alya asking any of his questions, he leaned in excitedly and glanced around before questioning her. “Have you guys…kissed?”

Alya snorted at the intensity of his question and grinned. “Yes.”

“How was it?”

She cocked her eyebrows at him and he realized his mistake, “Ah right,” he said, “Yes or no only.” She nodded and he continued.

“Did it feel nice?”

“Yes,” Alya, lips quirking up at the innocence of his questions. Most people would’ve jumped in straight away with _Have you guys done it yet?_   or something.

“Was it scary?”

“No.”

“So you had no worries about it? At all?”

“Yes.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed and he stopped. “Wait I’m confused,” he said “Did you have worries or not?”

“Yes.”

“Alya!”

She laughed at his bewildered expression and amended her statement. “Alright, but for your sake only will I amend my yes or no rule.”

He nodded and she started to answer his question, “It’s not that I was worried,” she said, “I _wanted_ to kiss him, I still do. Honestly, the first time was so nerve racking because I didn’t know how it would go.”

Adrien nodded again and she elaborated, “You shouldn’t kiss anyone that you don’t want, but kissing someone for the first time makes you nervous because of all the logistics that go into kissing. Like, how do you guys know that you’ll be able to reach? How do you know if the kiss will be good or bad? How do you know anything about kissing without a first kiss?”

“For me,” she continued, “I was nervous because of all these things but not because of Nino. If anything, Nino made it easier because of the fact that he is Nino, and I like him and he likes me. If you both like each other and you want to kiss, you shouldn’t be nervous even if you doubt yourself.”

“So if I want to kiss someone, I should just go for it?” Adrien asked thoughtfully.

“If they like you then yes,” she said. “But you should definitely know before you commit to it. Getting a kiss from someone you don’t like could be disastrous, especially if it’s your first kiss.” 

Adrien soaked in her small rant like a sponge and agreed heartily with her. As the teacher drew their attention away from the conversation, Alya glanced at the boy next to her yet again, wondering about his choice of questions. It seemed almost as if he was seeking advice.

He was so absorbed in the literature lecture he missed the questioning look Alya gave him as she turned over in her mind whether he was thinking about Ladybug or someone else.

\-----

"Ugh, I can't believe Bustier assigned us more homework!" Marinette groaned as Alya walked along the street with her. "As if I already didn't have enough to do with the review packet and the baking and the sewing! And now this?"

Alya clucked her tongue and patted Marinette on the shoulder. "If you want I can let you borrow my review packet and work some of the answers in," Alya said soothingly. "Honestly I expected something like this to happen, Adrien might be super smart but he has a lot of...extracurriculars, and you're busy with your parent's bakery. I worked ahead a bit and did some of the history that you didn't get to." She held out her packet for Marinette and nodded encouragingly.

"Go on, you can take it."

"Ah, Alya! What did I ever do to deserve you?" Marinette said as her eyes welled comically and she held out her hands for the papers.

The taller girl snorted, "Look as long as you make it to the study session on Saturday I don't care if you get answers from a fortune teller, you can make it up to me by dancing with Adrien."

Marinette giggled, much more relieved, and intertwined her hand with Alya's. They swung their arms back and forth, chatting idly about Kim's most recent race with Alix and Chole's unreasonable temper when she found out the race was centered around who could make her scream in surprise her the most.

The whole afternoon had been filled with Chole's shrill screams every twenty minutes or so as Alix and Kim found new ways to pull pranks on her or jump out from behind doors. It was a bit immature but very amusing, and so far no one had been sent to the office.

Just as Alya was about to ask Marinette if she had been invited to the class's summer break pool get-together, they rounded the block and Marinette had to detach her hand from Alya's and head for her house. They waved goodbye to each other with Alya mentioning she'd swing by later to pick up her review packet.

After a brief stop at a food vendor, Alya started home, checking on the Ladyblog and texting Nino as she walked. The afternoon quickly turned to evening once Alya reached her house and when 7:00 PM rolled around, Alya surfaced from her homework and emerged from her room. Luckily, her mom had the night off and was watching the twins, so with a short goodbye, Alya headed out promising to pick up food for all of them on her way home from Marinette's house.

She passed by a small deli a few streets over and picked up some sandwiches for her family, thinking all the while about how to film the next akuma attack if she saw Adrien. She hadn't had much time or space in her brain to think about what would happen next, but akuma attacks happened to regularly to let herself stop for too long. Her top priority now was defending his secret, figuring out akuma attacks could come second once she found a way to obscure any clues of his identity.

Fifteen minutes, and very little mental progress later, she reached the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and walked past the counter towards the house section of the building. She halted only for a moment to greet Marinette's parents and ask them where Marinette was.

"Upstairs," was the vague answer that Marinette's mother gave, but it seemed as if the two adults were up to their elbows in shutting down the shop so Alya decided not to press. She swept past the flour covered bakers and resumed her trek up the stairs and towards Marinette's room.

Upon approaching her trapdoor though, she paused and her ears pricked up. Low sounds were issuing through Marinette's door, and though she could not discern them, it sounded almost like two people, talking quietly. Alya took quiet steps up the ladder, and hesitated for a split second. Was it really like Marinette to have someone else in her room? Sure, the girl often talked to herself when she thought no one was watching, but this sounded almost like a deeper voice, someone more masculine. A mental battle ensued in Alya's mind, but giving Marinette the slightly more logical benefit of the doubt, she raised her arm up and rapped gently against the door.

"Marinette? It's Alya. I came by to pick up my review packet? Have you finished?"

"Uh y-yeah, Alya, just a minute!" Marinette shouted with a muffled voice. A few brief thumping noises were heard and just as Alya leaned in to listen more closely, Marinette's face took the place of the trapdoors.

"H-hey!" Alya said as she jumped back in surprise. "What was all that noise? You fall or something?"

"Ha! Wouldn't you know it!" Marinette said, red in the face and smiling, but darting her eyes away from Alya's. "I was up in my loft when you knocked on the door. It was locked so I had to scramble down to get it!"

"Oh..." Alya said, stepping up into Marinette's room, clutching her sandwich bag close to her. "I thought you were maybe watching TV or something..."

Her eyes slid to Marinette's computer screen, a two person video game was pulled up on the monitor, a second remote, dangling haphazardly on its chord, swung from the desk.

"Trying to play against yourself?" Alya asked, her eyes flashing from Marinette's desk to her face.

Marinette's eyes widened and she rubbed her neck, laughing lightly. "Yeah, I gotta learn to beat my dad somehow don't I? Besides I needed to take a break from copying down all those answers, it was starting to see my words run together..."

As Marinette gestured and babbled Alya's eyes swept from the desk to the yarn basket beside it, noting that the yarn itself was extremely tangled and haphazard, even for Marinette. She glanced from the basket to the window though when a slight shift of light caught her eye.

Unbeknownst to distracted, panicking Marinette, Alya watched as the fast vanishing silhouette of Chat Noir disappeared out of her vision a few rooftops away.


	4. The Lies in Her Eyes

“Marinette not to disturb you or anything, but you look a bit disturbed.”

The brunette nodded along sleepily to Alya’s words and rubbed her eyes. “Chemistry homework…had to finish,” was all she said as Alya began to busy the empty air with the latest news since they had seen each other the previous evening.

She started out slow with her texts between Nino but after a few minutes she mentioned the Ladyblog and glanced at the shorter girl, waiting for some sort of reaction.

“So there was no patrol last night?” Marinette yawned as she walked with Alya to school. The heat was coming down in Paris that day and despite actually sleeping without nightmares last night, Alya could still feel tiredness seeping into her bones. The combination of humidity, pressure from school, and her weighty conscience was almost too much. Enviously, she looked at Marinette’s relaxed yawn, at least Marinette had the excuse of seeing Chat Noir last night to keep her from sleep, Alya’s reasons were far less pleasant.

“How do you even know about their patrol times?” Marinette said offhandedly. “You’re not setting up spy gear or anything are you?”

Alya snorted and adjusted her tank top, trying to feel a little cooler. “No nothing like that,” she said. “I’ve just gotten used to them passing by is all…”

Stealthily, she glanced at Marinette as she said this and frowned. The girl was usually such an open book it was hard _not_ to read her, but the impassiveness of her expression now made Alya doubt her ability to read faces anymore. Any broach of conversation so far on Chat Noir had been met with a wall of inscrutability. It was most unlike Marinette to keep secrets from her, even secrets this big and now that Alya was faced with knowing Adrien’s…well she would like to know if Marinette knew too.

“Chat Noir’s a pretty impressive guy wouldn’t you say?” Alya said casually, “I think I’d be offended if he didn’t insist on stopping by every once in a while. It’s nice to know he’s…close.”

Marinette giggled and she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Chat Noir is very brave,” she said softly. “I don’t think Ladybug would be alive without him. He’s saved her as many times as she’s saved him. And I guess…that he’s not _that_ bad to look at. ” She turned to Alya, face highlighted with amusement, “Don’t tell me that you’re thinking of trading in Nino for that kinky alley cat though?”

Alya laughed again, trying to banish any stray thoughts of Adrien _ever_ doing anything kinky, and adjusted her bag. “Never,” she said, “I prefer my men out of leather suits rather than in.”

Marinette blushed a bit and Alya decided to try her luck and press further. “Do you think he’s cute?”

Marinette scoffed, very unconvincingly, and turned away from Alya’s eyes. “I think _Ladybug_ is cute,” she said smirking, but as the silence stretched she added, “Chat is definitely something though…”

“Something good or bad?”

Marinette smiled up at Alya innocently and laughed as they turned the corner, “Well if he’s defending Paris and his ‘Lady’ he can’t be all bad can he?”

Alya swallowed nervously and played her last card. “I should have figured,” she said slyly as they came up to the steps of school. “With your whole thing for Adrien I should have known you’d be into the cute blond model-tousled-hair-look.”

Marinette laughed again as they stepped through the doors and into school. “That’s silly, Alya,” she said as they headed to the lockers. “As much as I admire Chat Noir, Adrien has a much purer heart than Chat, for sure.”

As they reached the lockers though, she saw Marinette frown slightly, the wheels of her brain silently turning. “They do look quite alike though,” she murmured lowly, so lowly in fact Alya could barely hear her.

“Sorry, what did you---?”

“Marinette!” a voice called, and Alya turned to see Rose step into the locker room and wave to them. “Thank goodness I caught you,” she said in a dreamy but panicked voice and pulled out a handful of papers out of her bag. “I need your help. Desperately!”

Marinette turned to Alya with a questioning look and Alya nodded. If Rose needed Marinette’s help, she could definitely talk to her sans Alya. “Catch up with you in homeroom, Mari!” she quipped and started to walk away.

A few moments after leaving her locker though she passed by Marinette again just in time to hear: “I’ll help you as much as I can Rose, but I didn’t complete the assignment either…”

Unable to keep her curiosity to herself, Alya passed her eyes over the papers in question as she exited, and without a doubt she could identify them. Chemistry.

______

“So what do you say?” Nino asked, dreamily staring at Alya as people began filing into homeroom. “I know we planned for it to be just us and the dorks but…”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Alya said, bopping Nino’s nose with her finger. “We never get to do anything with the class anymore, let alone something this fun.”

Nino smiled and Alya could hardly resist leaning in closer to him. He seemed to warm the air, and not in an unpleasant way, more in a way that sent her heart hamming around her chest. He smelled more like cotton and aftershave with each inch she moved in closer. The smell reminded her of their last time together alone in her room and a steady blush began covering her cheeks.

“You know,” she said lowly, staring into his eyes unwavering, “with all of the people that could be there, it could get pretty crowded. It might get too _warm_.”

“So, if at any point you wanted to leave the dancefloor…” She flicked her eyes up and down his body and bit her lip coyly, “…I wouldn’t object.”

God she loved the way he blushed.

With all the suave grace of an overgrown pelican, Nino’s mouth dropped, closed and opened again. “I uh, yeah that would be…just dandy,” he stuttered, almost unable to stop the grin spreading across his face.

After another moment though, his eyes took on a more relaxed quality and he reached over the desk to grab her hand, absentmindedly running his thumb over her wrist. His eyes flicked back up to her and Alya could feel her stomach drop just from the touch of his hand and his gaze on her.

_If this is how excited she was now, what would it be like when---_

“Oi, lovebirds!” Both Nino and Alya turned to Kim reluctantly, each ripped away from their vivid imaginings.

“Yeah, Kim?” Alya asked, waiting for whatever nonsense was sure to follow.

“Couldn’t you guys wait until you get home to eye fuck each other like that?” Kim asked point blank, crossing his arms in triumph, as if he had just delivered a winning blow.

Unfortunately for Kim, Alya was not Marinette who would blush and try to exonerate herself. “On the contrary,” she said unblinkingly “what makes you think we don’t want to do it here, where everyone can watch?”

Fatality.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nino’s blush rising, but all she could process was Kim’s instant eye-widening and the red that soon consumed his face. “That’s just---“ he sputtered, “I mean---.”

Alix heelied over, roaring with laughter and gave Alya the thumbs up. “Nice one!” she complimented before poking Kim in the arm. “Told you that Alya would make you blush before you ever could make her. Pay up.”

Grumbling and still red in the cheeks, Kim pulled a five euro note from his wallet and reluctantly handed it over to Alix. She waved it like a victory flag around him and stuck her tongue out. “Now what should I spend this on?” she mused out loud, delighting in her triumph. “Candy? The arcade? Maybe some _lady products_?”

Nino, finally getting over his shock, laughed. “You could spend it on a pint,” he noted. “Alya and I were thinking of inviting everyone to the club not too far from here on Saturday.”

“Ooooo,” Alix said, her interest changing in a split second as she rolled over to them. “Dancing? Drinks? Slutty music? I’m totally there.”

“I guess you can count me in too,” Kim said, following Alix as if tracking her, “I wouldn’t mind playing for a bit.”

Alix rolled her eyes and scoffed, “As if,” she muttered glaring a bit too accusingly at him. “The last girl you ‘hooked up with’ was in preschool if I remember correctly.”

Kim grinned, her words not reaching him as harshly as Alya expected. “And I’ve kept my game going since then,” he said smirking and lifting his hand up to rub his chin. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of my skills?”

Alix frowned and rose up on her toes, almost meeting his shoulder, and leaned in with an intimidating look on her face. “I’d rather be dead than jealous of _you_ ,” she rumbled before turning back to Alya and Nino with a very determined look in her eyes. “We’ll be there,” she said before shooting Kim another glare, “And we’ll see who really has game.”

She rolled away before they could say anything else, and Kim followed, grinning with a manic glint in his eyes.

Nino watched them leave and shook his head in bewilderment. “Jesus, competing is like foreplay to them or something…”

Alya nodded in agreement and warily watched them go. She didn’t know if something was going on between her two classmates but they seemed to be enjoying themselves and she wasn’t one to put a stop to some good old fashioned fun.

“Speaking of foreplay,” Nino said, and Alya felt her pulse speed up before she saw where he was looking. Adrien and Marinette had just entered the classroom and it was a far way from where they had been at the beginning of the week.

Instead of bumping awkwardly into each other, they seemed to be laughing together and walking, nearly touching. Both of their cheeks were tinged pink and they seemed to be happier than Alya had ever seen them together.

She and Nino shared a knowing look and watched as their two best friends came to a stop in front of Nino’s desk.

“Well, this is where I have to leave you,” Marinette said shyly, gazing into Adrien’s eyes. “But if you want to come over and talk about how we should do it after school…”

“Absolutely,” Adrien said with a boyish glow, wrought with anticipation. “Name the time and the place, P-Marinette.”

Alya couldn’t help but notice Adrien’s almost slip up and her brows furrowed. What had he been about to call her? And why was he making plans with her as Adrien when he could just as easily show up as Chat Noir?

“Five-thirty?” Marinette said smiling. “We could go out to grab something to eat afterwards?”

“Sounds perfect,” Adrien practically purred, totally oblivious to the fact that Alya and Nino were staring blatantly at them with thinly veiled excitement.

“I’ll see you after school then,” Marinette said blushing further. “Um… bye?”

Adrien seemed to be as dazed as if he had just been hit over the head. “Bye.”

Marinette giggled a bit and waved as she backed away. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

“Well _hello_ there,” Nino said, ripping both Marinette and Adrien from their conversation. His head was propped up on his hands and he watched them with the expression of a vulture while they stared back as if they were deer in headlights.

Alya snorted a bit and looked down as Marinette’s blush reached her ears. Man, they were making a lot of people turn red today.

____

“Marinette are you listening?”

The girl in question turned to Alya and grinned sheepishly. Alya’s brow arched and she almost huffed in annoyance. She _had_ been asking Marinette a question, but at the moment the girl seemed to be talking into her hip. Alya could swear she heard something along the lines of “kawaii” slip from Marinette’s lips and she wondered if maybe Marinette was thinking about _anime boy_ rather than their plans.

“Look I know you like the kid, Mari, but a little focus would be appreciated once in a while.”

Marinette furrowed her brows in confusion and looked at Alya quizzically, “Wait, what?”

“Well I was trying to ask you who you wanted to invite to come dancing with us Saturday, but if you’re too worried about” she made air quotes “ _kawaii_ boy, you could tell me instead of spazzing out about it by yourself.”

Marinette held up her hands in defense, “No, I mean I know we were talking about but what do you mean when you say… _kawaii boy_?”

Alya’s eyebrows condensed and she crossed her arms, more confused than anything. “Well I meant Adrien,” she said, “obviously?”

Marinette frowned, “Adrien likes anime?”

“Wait hold on,” Alya said putting her hand on her temple, “You’re telling me that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, world renowned stalker extraordinaire, does not know that Adrien Agreste watches tons of anime in his spare time?”

“He’s never mentioned it…”

“But can’t you like, you know, tell?”

“What do you mean?”

Alya’s annoyance at Marinette’s muteness had ebbed away into amusement, and as they left homeroom she smirked. “Girl, the kid is a walking talking carbon-copy of Tamaki from _Ouran High School Host Club_! How have you _not_ noticed he watches anime?”

Marinette appeared lost in thought and Alya sighed, “You’re not telling me that every time he interacts with anyone besides you, you just space out and stare at his face? Are you?”

Marinette grimaced and her ears turned red. “Ah…I mean…maybe sometimes?”

Alya groaned and felt like banging her head into the nearest wall. “God, I swear, Mari, you two would be perfect for each other if you both weren’t so oblivious.”

“Perfect?” Marinette said softly, “I don’t know Alya…I don’t think he’s like my soulmate or anything… Besides, he’s kind of… and I’m all---.”

“All what?!” Alya said fiercely, stopping Marinette in the middle of the courtyard. “You’re cute as hell,” she started, tallying points with her fingers, “You’re smart when you focus on it, you’re talented both in fashion and in people skills, you like the same things he does, and you have an unhealthy kink for blond boys!”

“Alya!” Marinette moaned and glanced around nervously, “People can _hear_ you!”

“And why shouldn’t they?” Alya asked, crossing her arms again. “They should all know how awesome you are! Because you are!”

She pointed at Kim, crossing the courtyard with Max. “Yo, Kim! Max!”

“Yeah?” Kim shouted, moving over with Max following.

“Isn’t Marinette amazing?” Alya said deadpan as Marinette turned red for the millionth time. “Wouldn’t you like to be her friend? Or her boyfriend?”

“Of course,” Kim said grinning in confusion. “I mean, I thought we were already friends---.”

“Max?” Alya asked, turning to the shorter boy, taken aback at being addressed so forcefully. “What about you?”

“Marinette is very skilled at many things,” he said nasally but kindly, “and she is pretty, for a girl at least.”

“See!” Alya said turning back to Marinette, “Any person would want to be your friend, and any guy would want to date you. You _have_ to stop doubting yourself with Adrien!”

“Woah, Marinette!” Kim said, grin broadening at the gossip, “You like _the_ _model_? And here I thought you were just terrified of the kid.”

“What?!” Marinette said, her eyes bulging and mouth dropping open.

“You do tend to, well, freeze up whenever he’s around,” Max supplied. “I thought it was because you were intimidated to match your skills in _Ultimate Mecha Strike III_. I had no idea about your feelings for him.”

“This proves my point even more!” Alya said nodding to the boys in thanks and turned back to Marinette. “The boy is oblivious. Oblivious! And to be honest, if Max and Kim didn’t know about your crush, how did you think Adrien would? You have to confront him! Tell him what you feel!”

“Yeah!” Kim agreed, pumping his fist in the air, “When you’re behind enemy lines and have nowhere to run but forward, will you cower in the trenches? Or will you take that ball to the end of the pitch and---.”

“Kim!” Alya said, making an _I’ve-got-this_ gesture. “You have to make a move, Marinette,” she said reaching out to touch her friend’s shoulder. “I’m not saying you _need_ to tell him right now, but if you don’t do something soon…”

A vision of Ladybug and Chat Noir holding hands as they jumped over the rooftops filled Alya’s mind. If Marinette didn’t tell him soon, he was bound to end up with Ladybug; and as much as she loved her friend, if a teenage boy was given a choice between a superhero and a classmate, she knew it would not go in Marinette’s favor.

“…Adrien could end up with someone else,” she concluded, her words heavier than she anticipated. She loved Marinette and wanted to root for her as much as she could, but knowing Adrien’s secret left the door open to consequences she never could have foreseen when he was “just Adrien”.

“Adrien would be lucky to have you,” Kim said and Max nodded along in agreement. “Not that we should judge your value on whether people want to go out with you or not, but you’re an awesome girl, Mari, you could date anyone you wanted.”

“Exactly!” Alya said, looking into her best friend’s blue eyes that filled with moisture. “You could be with anyone you wanted.”

“Oh, Alya…” Marinette blubbered as her tears spilled gently over her face. The force with which she hugged Alya was surprising. For a tiny girl, she really squeezed all the air from Alya’s lungs. “What could I ever do without you?”

Alya chuckled and patted Marinette on the back as the boys walked away. “I’m here for you,” she said. “Just promise you’re with me, okay?”

Marinette lifted her head up from Alya’s shoulder and wiped her eyes, smiling and sniffing. “I’m with you,” she responded, mock saluting. “100%, Captain.”

_____

“All I’m saying is that Marinette seems pretty happy,” Nino said as they parted ways at Nino’s classroom. “Whatever you guys are doing, its putting a smile on her face. And yours.”

“Mine?” Adrien said, trying not to grin. “She’s a great girl and everything, and I really like spending time with her, but you know that I---.”

“’Like someone else’,” Nino said rolling his eyes. He held up his hand and mimed talking, “Blah, blah, blah and bullshit, dude! You clearly like her, and you’re just lucky that you’re too oblivious to notice---.” He cut off his sentence and froze, before glancing nervously at Adrien and coughing. “A-anyway, man, what’s the deal with your fencing anyway? Like are you going professional or…”

“Nino?”

“Um…yeah?”

Adrien glared, noticing the lack of eye-contact Nino suddenly had inserted into their conversation. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“N-nothing!”

“Oh _come on_!”

“Dude, I swear on my new _GearGrinders_ t-that I’m not keeping anything from you.”

Adrien’s green eyes narrowed at Nino’s complete lack of causality and he sighed. “Nino, I love you man, but you’re a terrible liar.”

Nino glanced around, checking the general vicinity and scanned the crowd.

“What are you doing?” Adrien asked, more bemused than anything.

“Checking to see if the coast is clear,” Nino muttered, eyes swiveling, “I swear, that woman has the ears of a bat with hearing aids.”

Adrien raised a slender brow and waited until Nino had finished. With one last cumulative glance, Nino faced Adrien again and placed his hands on either side of his shoulders, pulling him in for what seemed to be a very well-kept secret. “Okay,” he whispered urgently, “But you cannot tell anyone! Especially not Alya, or she would kill me.”

Adrien smirked and leaned in, “You seemed to be overly worried about what Alya---.”

“I am _not_ overly worried!” Nino said with an almost panicked look on his face. “I am exactly the right amount of worried, which is what you should be too! I’m telling you a secret here, okay? _A girl secret_. This shit is like, super real to them.”

Adrien nodded along and glanced down the hallway for Alya again.

“Okay here goes,” Nino said, leaning in to deliver a secret which Adrien was now very interested to hear.

“Marinette likes y----.”

“Nino!”

Both boys jumped at the sound of Alya’s voice and Nino brushed off Adrien’s shoulders as nonchalantly as possible. “Yeah dude, I don’t know what you’re worried about, it doesn’t look like dandruff.”

“ _How is that a good excuse?_ ” Adrien whispered ferociously as the girls approached.

“I’m _sorry_ I panicked! Besides I---Alya! What a pleasant surprise!”

Alya raised her eyebrows at his and Adrien’s forced grins but said nothing. “I was walking Marinette to class,” she said slowly and the boys turned to see Marinette, glancing at them with a similar expression, for the first time. “But I saw you two,” she continued.

“What are you doing over here, Adrien?” she asked, at last tuning into her reporter senses. “It’s very unlike you to be this late to class.”

“It’s still five minutes till class starts,” Nino chimed in, trying to ease the rabid reporter he could see forming behind her eyes.

“Yeah, but Adrien is always early to class by five minutes,” Alya countered. “What is he---.”

“Well, she’s right, better head off to class then!” Adrien said quickly, jumping between his friend and the line of fire. “Catch you later Nino! Alya? Do you want to head off to class or…?”

If anything, Adrien’s sudden outburst had confused the two girls even more. They exchanged a look before Alya nodded slowly at Adrien. “Okay, I guess we’re going to class then?”

“Awesome! Fantastic! Wonderful!” Adrien said, really eager to escape now to spare Nino. “Catch you later, Nino! Marinette! Stay fresh!”

Immediately he cringed inwardly, wishing words could fly back into his mouth. But he was now too committed to the part to back out now. He walked down the hallway blindly, shooting finger-guns and nearly bumping into three people.

“I have no idea what is going on,” Marinette said as he continued to walk backwards and out of earshot, “but I have a feeling that I do not want to know.”

____

“So…” Alya began casually as she sat down at the desk she shared with Adrien, “Marinette told me---.”

“Nino didn’t say anything to me!”

Alya turned only to see Adrien staring at her with the expression of a kid who’s been caught stealing candy. “What?”

“Nothing!” he interjected, “Ignore me!”

“Okay…” she started again. Honestly, between the superhero cat and the socially challenged boy she knew, she had no idea where Chat Noir started and Adrien ended.

“Marinette mentioned that you were going to come over to her house this afternoon? I was just curious about what you were going to be doing?”

“Oh,” Adrien said, slumping in relief. “She asked if I could help her try out some men’s wear clothing she’s designing right now.”

“I see,” Alya said to herself, smirking at the thought of Marinette poking Adrien with pins whenever she got too nervous.

“You and her seem a lot closer now,” she said pulling her book from her bag. “I’ve never seen you guys talk like this before.”

“Yeah, well,” Adrien began bashfully, glancing up at Alya. “We figured if our two best friends are going to be dating, what’s the harm in getting to know each other a little better?” He smiled at her playfully and leaned in, “It’d be nice to have a friend when my other two are too busy with _other activities_.”

_As if you have any room to speak about what people do in their private life..._

She snorted and placed her book on the table, flipping it open to the page the teacher wrote on the board. “How’s it going? You guys figuring out how much you have in common?”

“Actually, yeah,” Adrien said, and Alya could see a shade of pink creep up his neck. “I had no idea we had such similar interests.”

“Well she is all about fashion that one---,” she started

“I had no idea she watched all the same anime as I do,” he said at the same time. “I mean, for a girl who’s never been in the industry her design sense is impeccable, but she and I like all the same things! Shows, animals, music…” he continued on, oblivious to Alya’s silence as she digested this information.

Marinette had no idea Adrien liked anime, and yet he’s told her? And they’ve agreed on which one’s they liked? And talked about them in detail? This made no sense.

Just as the teacher started the lesson, Alya’s thoughts clicked at last and her realization nearly sent her down a rabbit hole of frustration; Marinette knew Adrien and Marinette knew Chat Noir, but she had no idea they were the same person.

Alya groaned and dropped her head to the desk just as the lesson began. Her earlier thoughts repeated themselves: _They would be perfect for each other if they weren’t so oblivious_.

____

“I can’t believe you almost told him!” Alya practically screeched as she and Nino walked towards the courtyard. It was nearly lunch time and in a matter of moments they would see the oblivious girl and boy. After wheedling information out of Nino with a few well-placed words, Alya could hardly stand to look at him she was so annoyed.

“Oh come on, Alya! How bad would it be if he knew?”

“Nino,” Alya said, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, “for the millionth time, Adrien _cannot know_!”

Nino threw his hands up in the air, expression exasperated, and sighed for the tenth time. “All I’m saying,” he countered, “is that the dude has no idea. If he had some sort of inkling that Marinette already liked him---.”

“Then he would feel obligated by social pressure to confront her,” Alya retorted, “Or turn her down, or take her out because everyone wants him to, or---.”

Ladybug flashed through her mind again. She slowed her walk before halting completely. She could not let that thought invade her head right now. It was bad enough that she had to keep his furry secret, why did she have to keep this one too?

“Or something even worse, okay?”

Nino stopped along with her and narrowed his eyes in disbelief as he crossed his arms. “Alya, come on, do you really think that Adrien is the type of guy to just blow Marinette off like that? Or not care about her feelings?”

Alya mirrored him and crossed her arms. A defiant expression fell onto her face and Nino suddenly had the distinct impression that he was about to be given a long and complicated rant. Again.

“I don’t want to say anything about him and incite your ‘bro love’ wrath,” she continued with a slightly menacing air, “but to be perfectly honest, Marinette is already terrified of rejection and us meddling in this business between them _really_ does not help.”

“If Adrien ever found out without her telling him herself, he would just start to act weird around her. Either Marinette needs to grow a pair and ask him out, or he needs to figure out how he likes her on his own. This is something we can only help with, Nino, it’s not our place to interfere.”

Nino scoffed, but pouted in such a way that Alya knew he had listened. “Leave it to you to tell _me_ not to interfere,” he mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Smiling begrudgingly, Alya placed her arm on his shoulder gently. “I know it’s hard, _mon amour,_ ” she said, squeezing his arm. “Every time I see them all I want to do is shake them and throw them into a janitor’s closest so they can work things out. But this is a choice they need to make. We can’t force something that’s meant to be.”

Nino scowled but he dropped his head next to her neck, his face brushing her shoulder. “I hate the fact that you’re always right,” he admitted softly into her shirt.

His breath tickled her hair and she wrapped her arms around his middle, pulling him into her. “I think you love it,” she murmured into his chest. She could hear his heart thumping next to her ear, speeding up as his arms enclosed her.

“See,” he muttered, hugging her tight, “you’re always right.”

_____

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Marinette laughed in mock-disbelief. “There’s no way that _Mecha III_ can ever top the original!”

Adrien stuck his tongue out and playfully ran his hand through his hair, teasing it. “ _Mecha I_ is way too old!” he countered as they sat on the grass, “It’s like comparing _Street Fighter_ to _Smash Bros_.”

“I can’t believe you would even put them in the same playing field!” Marinette haughtily said, dismissing Adrien’s statement with a smile on her face. “First of all, _Mecha Strike_ …”

Alya rolled her eyes and continued to eat her sandwich. It was lunch hour and after a long morning of review, she was ready for a break. She, Nino, Marinette, and Adrien were all in a grassy yard a block or so from the school, and trying to blow off steam in the little time they had. Nino, at the moment, was lying in Alya’s lap with his hat over his face, trying to nap; Marinette and Adrien sat on the ground below, dorkily but cutely discussing games while eating their lunch and Alya was finishing up the last of her food while trying and failing to keep her invasive thoughts at bay.

She had so many questions and as she looked down at the blonde boy beneath her, the curiosity grew. All of his behavior remained a mystery to her. Yes he was Chat Noir, but how long had he been Chat Noir? Were he and Ladybug immortal? Mortal? Was he really Adrien Agreste? Who or what was the ‘Plagg’ he had been speaking to in the bathroom? Was she the only one who knew his secret? And what was he doing visiting Marinette as Chat Noir?

She knew in her heart she would need to tell him, soon. This secret was too big for her to keep and, after thinking about a lot of the akuma attacks he had come away from so far, it seemed to be too big for Adrien. His mountain of absences with or without his regulated extracurriculars was spotty at best. He never arrived on time after an akuma was put down. He had a distinctive silver ring.

All of these pieces were nothing separately, but Hawkmoth proved over and over to be nothing but conniving. Sure, she _may_ be the first person to know about Adrien, but if Hawkmoth remained vigilant she would not be the last. Adrien was too exposed, too vulnerable. The only thing he had to hide himself in was a mass of other Parisians. But one mistaken line or slip-up could result in the model’s face becoming all too recognizable to his worst enemy.

Alya bit her lip and glanced warily at Adrien again. He looked so carefree she could hardly picture him as the hardened superhero Paris had come to trust.

Maybe that was his defense? Acting so differently from his superhero persona that no one would ever believe it was him? It had worked with Clark Kent…

But then why would he risk Marinette uncovering his secret? Now she shifted her eyes to the small girl, blushing delicately under Adrien’s words of praise. Yes, Marinette was trustworthy and understanding, but why would Adrien choose to appear before her as Chat Noir rather than himself? Wouldn’t that just risk incrimination? Wouldn’t he worry about Marinette uncovering his identity?

A thought struck her so suddenly that Alya nearly jolted up in shock. But Nino’s head resting on her lap thankfully prevented her from embarrassment. The thought was _ridiculous._ It was completely nonsensical. However…

A glance towards two completely oblivious idiots did nothing but solidify the idea further in her mind and for the hundredth time that day she internally screamed in frustration. Adrien didn’t want Marinette to find out his secret…did he? Was he desperate enough for a confidant that he turned to the one person who was outspokenly a Chat Noir supporter and a friend? Someone other than Nino? Had he sought Marinette out specifically after getting to know her as Adrien?

She narrowed her eyes and chewed the inside of her lip. The motive was certainly there. Marinette had a habit of cheering everyone up whether she realized it or not; and Adrien, even with Nino as his best friend, was definitely a person that needed cheering up. Not to mention that if Adrien and Marinette got along as civilians, surely Adrien’s feelings towards Marinette wouldn’t change when he became Chat Noir? He still enjoyed her company and they still shared the same interests. Maybe it was less about wanting her to know his secret and more about wanting her to know the real him?

That idea put a bit of a smirk on Alya’s face. If _that_ was the case, Ladybug was certainly in for some competition with another brunette. With Adrien’s social ineptitude however, Alya was sure that he would never view wanting Marinette to know the real him as the romantic gesture it was. Without realizing it, he had fallen for her, and Alya was watching it happen.

She huffed in semi-annoyance and looked back at the two teenagers on the ground. With their shy smiles and hesitant leaning ‘friends’ was definitely not a word that sprang to her mind. Adrien did not know it but Marinette liked him as much as he seemed to like her, leaving Alya in a moral conundrum that she was in no right to correct.

_Damn my stupid speeches to Nino…_ she thought bitterly. If she interfered and told Marinette or Adrien about the other everything would be solved!

_What about keeping Ladybug and Chat Noir’s secret_ , a nagging voice said inside her mind, _do you not care about it anymore? Do you think you have the right to interfere in business that isn’t yours just because they’re your friends?_

She ground her teeth together. This was the most frustrating situation she had ever been involved in. On the one hand, she could tell Adrien that she knew his secret and know that there was a possibility he would lose interest in Marinette; on the other hand, if she kept it from him she would force two people into blissful ignorance but be lying to two of her closest friends. How could she possibly choose a solution when so much fallout could occur from both options?

Her tortured expression evidently was too obvious to miss. “Alya?”

She looked beneath her to meet Nino’s golden eyes. His cap was pushed away from his eyes and he was staring at her with a concerned expression. “Are you alright? You look upset?”

She attempted to smile, forcing the corners of her mouth to quirk up and her face to relax. “I’m fine, _mon amour_ ,” she muttered, “just tired.”

He frowned and again Alya was reminded how easily he could see through her. “Are you sure, babe? You don’t seem like your usual inspired self.” His brows narrowed, “You’re not having nightmares again?” he murmured for her ears only.

She leaned over and chastely pressed her lips to his for a moment. His breath seemed to leave him and when she came up again he looked at her with a glassy stare. “I promise I’m okay,” she lied through her smile. “If I was having nightmares again, you would be the first to know.”

He nodded, still too broadsided by the kiss to process anything, let alone a lie. Tittering noises came to her ears and she saw Marinette and Adrien wrinkling their noses in amusement. With each grinning at her and wiggling their eyebrows suggestively, the unexpectedness caused a laugh to bubble from her throat for the first time that afternoon. She stuck her tongue out at them as they joined in on her laughter.

Maybe keeping this secret in was possible…

A loud boom shook the ground and before Alya could think, she and Nino tumbled from their bench onto the grass. Screams erupted from every direction and when she looked back towards the school dust and debris flew through the air. She could practically hear the cackling laugh of the most recent villain. Static seemed to fill the air and Alya couldn’t hear over the roaring in her ears.

Before she made a conscious decision she yanked her phone from her pocket and jumped up, her legs already showing the goodbye that her words could not. She distantly heard Nino yell her name but she could hardly hear his voice over the sound of her blood pumping. For the first time all week only one thought filled her head and determination spurred her forward.

_Akuma. Akuma. Akuma. Akuma_.


	5. How to Catch a Cat

At first, in her mad dash towards the school, all Alya could hear were screams. Generally, an akuma presence meant lots of panic, so to find the akuma she would have to go where the screams were the loudest. As she reached the steps however, her scream radar was interfered with by her three friends yelling behind her.

“Alya! It’s too dangerous,” came Marinette’s high pitched shriek.

“You don’t know what the akuma does!” Adrien warned as they rounded the bend.

“It’s not safe until Chat Noir and Ladybug show up!” Nino’s yell cautioned.

Alya’s eyes darted to the blond running towards her and she grinned as she slipped into the building. _Chat Noir is already here_ , she thought, _it’s perfectly safe---_

A strangled scream left her throat as a full-sized desk hurtled towards her. It was so close she could feel the brush of wind as it flew over her head. Barely bending back in time to avoid it, the desk splintered in the entrance and blocked her way back.

Her heart was going a million miles a minute and her palms were already beginning to sweat. That had been close, _too close_. Reluctantly, she thought back to Nino’s last words to her, maybe this wasn’t the safest situation…

Gathering her courage again she glanced up at the akumatized victim above her. It was a young girl, a first year maybe. She was spinning lopsidedly in the air, held up by a large amount of whirling paper shreds. She was laughing manically at the top of the swirling pile, dressed in a bright orange and yellow jumpsuit, her face obscured by neon goggles and her long billowing hair. With shaking hands Alya unlocked her phone, clicking on her webcam app and ran as fast as she could to the nearest pillar.

She narrowly avoided three more chairs thrown in her direction and felt multiple paper shreds graze her skin before she slid behind a concrete blockade. She panted from the exertion and pressed herself against the stone trying her best to remain out of sight. After five deep breaths she was positive that the coast was clear and lifted her camera to point it at the girl.

“Where is she?” the akuma shrieked. “Where is Chloe?!” With a yell of frustration the akuma lifted her arm up, causing a large amount of papers to whiz out and smash with great force into a window. The panes shattered and glass shards rained down on the ground only to join the wild wind whipping the rest of the items around.

After the initial shock of seeing mere paper break glass, Alya tracked the fragments to their source with her phone. She was amazed to see the shards reform into a rough circle of uneven pieces before speeding up to the akuma. The victim in question already had several circles of material surrounding her, almost like a barrier. There were about three shields made entirely of glass, ten gigantic paper wads, and a few splintered wooden spheres, all ominously revolving in the wind around the girl. It seemed as if with every new object the wind broke, a new projectile-shield piece was born, both protecting her and providing her with defense.

This was not going to be an easy akuma.

“I am Madame Construction!” the akuma bellowed to the school, “And I fix what is broken, I repair what cannot be put back together. I create where there is destruction.”

Alya gulped and adjusted her grip on the phone. The wind was making it hard to take a clear shot of the attack and, with all the debris whipping around, Madame Construction could barely be seen amid the chaos. Alya needed to move in closer.

Biting her lip and scanning for options, she felt her eyes rest on a series of lockers, blown out into the courtyard from the commotion. They were sturdy and big enough to hide behind but the distance was too great to cross without the akuma noticing her. Silently, she glanced around looking for some way to confuse the akuma long enough so she could adjust her position.

Luckily, the black cat chose that moment to appear. “Your speech sure was riveting,” he quipped as he scampered over the school wall, “but as to your main point, I think you’ll find that creation and destruction aren’t as purr-fect as you think they are.”

He dropped to the ground, rolling to avoid a sphere of glass Madame Construction had thrown, and extended his staff. “Now, now,” he said “there’s no need for such violence, even if you don’t like my puns.”

Through the mass of flying debris Alya, for the first time in weeks, clearly saw the outline of a purple butterfly glow upon the victim’s face. A pit opened in her stomach and she could feel her blood boiling in her ears. The roar of wind quieted and her fingers seemed unfeeling and cold. All she could do was gasp for air and watch, dumbstruck, as she saw Hawkmoth’s imprint appear on another’s innocent face.

All her courage seemed to have blown away with the wind. Her mind was flooded with images of her reflection against windows and mirrors: a reflection with the purple eyes of a butterfly. She had been in this spot before, she had been in this akuma’s place, and she had fallen, just like the young girl before her.

A strange numbness overwhelmed her and distantly she could sense her phone slipping from her fingers.

“Surrender your miraculous, Chat Noir,” the akuma rumbled, her small voice magnified by the evil power shackled to her. “Or I will destroy this school and everyone inside.”

Alya could feel herself slipping away…

“You know for someone who boasts about healing and repair, threatening to destroy a school seems counterintuitive.”

Ladybug’s voice was like waking up from a dream. Suddenly, Alya’s fingers felt and she turned her camera to capture the red spotted hero vaulting away from the school wall. She spun and whipped her body around, connecting her yo-yo to unseen hooks so quickly Alya’s eyes could barely follow. The akuma, on the other hand, was having difficulty tracking her and was now facing a battle with two rather than one.

Alya felt revitalized by the appearance of the heroine. Breath filled her lungs in the windy courtyard and for a moment she felt as in sync with Ladybug as she did with her own mind. She was ready to take on any challenge, for what harm could befall her here in the presence of Lady Luck. 

While Madame Construction focused her spheres of ‘destruction’ on the miraculous wielders, Alya was free to bolt from her column to the lockers. Again, she felt the sting of paper whirling around her but now that the two heroes were here her skin seemed to take on the iron quality of her will. If _they_ could be strong so could she.

At last, she ducked behind the lockers and peaked over the top. The battle was continuing with all ferocity and she propped her camera up to catch the best bits of the action:

“GIVE ME YOUR MIRACULOUS!”

“You know all these akumas just asking for our miraculous is getting really _annoying_ ,” Ladybug said in a cross voice, “you would think Hawkmoth has nothing better planned.”

“Maybe he’s looking for discount jewelry,” Chat Noir commented laughing as he dodged another sphere, “and he’s too shy to ask us in person.”

Ladybug smiled as she sprang forward, spinning her yo-yo till it glowed pink. The spheres shattered on contact, but the wind would only whip them up again to form by the akuma. Defense clearly was a temporary option.

Seeming to realize this, Ladybug called out. “Chat! I need you!”

“I thought you’d never ask, My Lady,” he said in response, spinning his baton and moving in front of her.

Alya, when she zoomed in with her camera, could see Ladybug’s eyes darting all around the akuma looking for the cursed object. This move was not unfamiliar to Alya, who analyzed all of her recordings, but after a few hectic moments of searching, Ladybug seemed to give up as if she couldn’t find it.

The spheres were forcing the black and red clad heroes all around the courtyard, but they were slowly edging closer to Alya’s place by the lockers and with each step closer the wind picked up. She needed to move.

_Well, it’s a good thing my fans don’t follow me for quality video content,_ Alya thought as she grabbed her camera roughly and scanned for another place to hide out and film. But just as her eyes found a suitable doorway, a sphere of glass crashed to earth in front of her.

In shock, she leapt backwards and tripped; her phone slipped out of her hand. Her fall did little to distract her from the sudden pain lancing up her arms though. With a small scream and a large wince she saw blood. The glass had sliced her bare arms and now her skin was speckled with countless red pinpricks, shining in a nauseating fashion.

This certainly wasn’t the first time she had been injured during an akuma fight, but seeing her own blood was enough to shock her for a moment, making her freeze.

“Alya!”

Limbs shaking, she turned to see Nino occupying the doorway she had stared at a moment ago. He was pale and had obviously seen her fall. It was unlike Nino to get so close to the action and yet here he was.

Unfortunately for them, the akuma had noticed the yell and her attention turned from Ladybug and Chat Noir to the two defenseless teenagers. Alya crawled backwards on the ground, scurrying away from the akuma as fast as she could.

Just as she turned and snatched up her phone, she saw the akuma’s mask distort with purple. Perfect, it was just like Hawkmoth to target innocent civilians.

“Nino, run!” she yelled as she bolted towards the doorway. Her legs carried her as fast as the wind around her and she reached the door just in time to hear a wood sphere splinter inches behind her.

She grabbed Nino’s arm and dragged him deeper into the classroom and out of view. “We need to get out of sight,” she rambled, grimacing and running ahead of him. “This akuma has a lot of arsenal at her disposal.”

Panting, they reached the edge of the classroom and whipped open the door to the next room. They scrambled in shaking and slammed the connecting door behind them. It was not a moment too soon.

The howl of wind was extinguished by the largest crash yet as the room they had just occupied was blasted open; stone and mortar flew into the air and the door they closed was demolished in the sudden explosion. At the sound, Alya faintly sensed Nino wrenching her down to the floor and wrapping his arms protectively around her. Dust was thick in the air.

Distantly, she heard Ladybug and Chat Noir scream at the akuma, trying in vain to put its attention back on them. Regrettably for the heroes, Hawkmoth knew their limits when it came to civilians: they would do anything to protect them.

Fortunately for Nino and Alya, Chat Noir was the greatest distraction on the face of the planet, and after only a couple seconds the akuma stopped targeting them and went back to battling the real threat.

Nino coughed from the dust and Alya felt his body press against hers.

“Alya,” he croaked “please tell me that you’re okay.”

She swallowed and twisted to face him. He was covered in white dust and his vision was majorly obscured from his coated glasses, but otherwise he seemed fine. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat up.

“I’m fine,” she said, becoming aware of the pain in her arms instantly. She hissed and Nino stiffened.

“Don’t lie to me,” he growled in a surprisingly stern voice. He snatched his glasses off and suddenly Alya was subjected to his piercing golden gaze. His eyes said everything about how worried and scared he was. His was not a look to be taken lightly.

He wiped his glasses against his sleeve and plopped them, slightly cleaner, onto the bridge of his nose. “You’re bleeding,” he muttered, taking her arm and lifting it up for inspection. “I saw you fall, the glass hit you didn’t it?”

Alya averted her eyes and frowned, shame seeping into her being. “It was an accident,” she said, “and I _am_ fine, Nino! It’s just a little bit of glass---“.

“A little bit of glass!” Nino barked, fury clouding his normally gentle features. “ _Are you kidding me_!? A foot closer and it would have been your face. Your _face_ , Alya.” She could feel his fingers press into her arm, shaking.

“You don’t have super powers or a super suit,” he said angrily, “You are a human girl with human skin. You can’t rush into these situations unprepared. Do you think Chat Noir and Ladybug take this stuff lightly? Don’t you realize they put their life on the line every time they fight? Don’t you think they’re afraid?”

Alya sensed tears building up at the edge of her eyes and bit her lip, not responding.

Nino took her silence for acceptance and continued, “You run headlong into danger and don’t think about how vulnerable you are! It was glass this time, but what about the next time? What about the Pharaoh? What about Dark Cupid? You’ve been attacked by akuma before and you’ve learned nothing. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

Alya heard words fall from her lips before the thought had crossed her mind. “Then I get killed,” she said.

Nino froze, his anger turning to horror as he looked at her. There was a stale moment of silence. “Are you insane?” he squawked.

Fire blazed in her eyes and she pulled her arm out of Nino’s hands. Blood ran down her wrists and still she stood, clutching her phone so hard in her hand her knuckles turned white. “Then. I. Die.” she repeated looking down at Nino’s shocked face.

“I would rather die than let Hawkmoth get away,” she spat. “I will not stop until that manipulative butterfly is behind bars or worse. I will not stop until I have enough evidence to help Ladybug and Chat Noir. I will not stop until the akumas do. And if you think that I’m insane or that I’m going to stop just because you tell me to, you don’t know me at all, because I will _never_ stop.”

Her mutters had risen to shouts and she shook with both pain and anger. “And now if you’ll excuse me,” she said holding her phone up, “I have an akuma to record and an evil mastermind to catch.”

She ran from the room before Nino could protest and back into the destroyed class. Dust was thick here, so the akuma and her wind were further away. Using the debris as cover, she jumped and ran around fallen desks and stone, her camera still on record.

She had a butterfly to catch.

\-----

“Bye-bye, pretty butterfly!” Ladybug said triumphantly as she released a purified akuma into the air. The fight was over and students were beginning to cautiously peak out of their hiding places, but Alya marched up to the heroes in the open, waving to them.

“Ladybug! Chat Noir! Do you have any words for your viewers? What can you tell us about the akuma?”

The two turned at her voice and before Alya could comprehend anything, Ladybug ran to her and grabbed her arm.

“Thank god,” the woman whispered, her suit’s fingers pressed softly against Alya’s now healed skin, “the cure fixed you.”

Alya blushed at the sudden attention. Ladybug had never touched her before, and that, combined with being so physically close to her hero and role model, made the situation a little more than overwhelming. “I-uh yeah! I’m fine now,” she said nervously, looking at Chat Noir.

He stared at her with relief plain on his masked face. She looked guiltily back at him, positive that she was going to get an earful from Adrien later. “I know we can’t stop you from filming,” he said joining his partner at Alya’s side, “but please try to be more careful, I don’t know if your friends or family would be happy if you got hurt because of us.”

“Well said, Chat Noir,” Ladybug agreed letting go of Alya’s forearm and facing the camera. “As to your questions, Alya, it’s the same as always, just another victim of Hawkmoth’s akumas caught in a tight spot.”

“Do you have any idea where Hawkmoth may be?” Alya questioned, now in full reporter mode. “Why does he want your Miraculouses? Why is he choosing now to attack?”

Ladybug opened her mouth to respond but her earrings beeped in warning and she hesitated. “I’m afraid I have to dash,” she muttered while looking around for an exit, “But rest assured knowing that Chat Noir and I are working very hard to confront Hawkmoth and stop him once and for all. I promise you that we will not fail to keep Paris safe.”

“Can you comment on the student that was attacked? She mentioned that Chloe---“.

“I’m afraid that we’re out of time for an interview,” Chat said as his own ring blipped, “But if My Lady would like to have an exclusive with me I wouldn’t say no.” He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at Ladybug who sighed tiredly.

“In your dreams,” she said unclasping her yo-yo, “Your lines are getting just a bit too…catty.”

Chat Noir snickered and extended his baton. Alya clicked her phone off, the interview was clearly over and the heroes were ready to depart.

“By the way, Bugaboo,” he said casually spinning his staff, “I saw two civilians outside the school just as I was heading over the wall, did you happen to see them before you rushed into the action?”

“What civilians,” Ladybug asked in confusion, “What did they look like?”

“One of them was the girl who helped us with Evillustrator, Marinette? Black hair? Small? The other was Nino Lahiffe, the boy who we saved from the Bubbler?”

For some reason Ladybug stiffened and Alya’s ears perked up even more at the mention of her two friends. Clearly, Adrien was worried about his companions but didn’t want to give anything away.

After a moment Ladybug responded with clipped words, “They’re fine. I saw them before I leapt at the akuma. I’m sure they’re safe.”

Chat Noir frowned at her shortness and nodded, vaulting away before Ladybug could say anything else. He quickly turned in the direction of the park where the four of them had eaten lunch. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ladybug cursed and threw her yo-yo over the wall, flying away after him.

Alya was frozen on the spot. What was that about? Did Chat Noir not trust Ladybug? Why had Adrien mentioned Marinette before Nino?

Damn them and their inability to sit still for one-freaking-second so she could _properly_ interview them…

She frowned as a grey cloud formed in her mind and thoughts began to pester her. All of her answers led to more questions than tangible information, and after months of asking she seemed to be getting nowhere. Interviewing them had been bust over and over again.

Maybe it was time to get information another way….

With her brain whipping as fast as the akuma’s wind, she walked forward and looked at the empty space the heroes had left behind. One way or another she _was_ getting to the bottom of this. She was going to find Hawkmoth and finally punch his smug pretentious face.

\-----

It was excruciatingly painful to be near Nino after their confrontation. At the moment ,Alya was torn between apologizing and then mentally kicking herself for wanting to do so. How could someone make her so simultaneously sad and angry to be around at once? She glanced down at Nino out of the corner of here eye and felt her blood boil a bit more. 

Why couldn't he just let her do what she wanted? Why couldn't he just have held her close after the attack instead of lecturing her about how dangerous her actions were? 

Then again, maybe they didn't seem so dangerous to her anymore. She had someone new she now fought for. 

Her eyes slipped from Nino to Adrien and noticed his soft but incessant tapping on the desk in front of him. It wasn't like Adrien to be this jumpy. Maybe it was a Chat Noir trait seeping in? After the fight, Adrien had hardly been able to keep away from Marinette, constantly asking if she was alright, if the akuma had come near her, if she had been hurt. Not that Marinette was opposed to the attention, but it struck Alya odd that she hadn't thought Adrien's disappearance was suspicious, especially now that they were getting closer. Had Marinette really just sought shelter without noticing where Adrien was?

Definitely strange. 

Their embrace on reuniting was sweet, and between Marinette's reaction of complete surprise and Adrien's flimsy excuses for initiating it, Alya was beginning to wish she had caught it on film. Just to tease Marinette about it later, of course. 

Their cute embrace reminded her of Nino's not-so-adorable one though and she scowled again. The absolute _gall_ of that boy. Telling her _she_ didn't know what she was doing. That _she_ had learned nothing. It made her want to add another person to her punching list. 

Finally, Ms. Bustier finished her closing remarks for the day and dismissed the class. Perfect. A dramatic and well-timed exit was just what she was waiting for. 

She grabbed her bag and swept from her desk just as Nino began to turn around to talk to her. Without a word to him, or anyone else, she flounced out of the classroom and headed towards the exit. In the air behind her she could hear Nino calling for her but she clenched her jaw and kept walking. It was not until she reached the stairs outside that she felt his hand on her shoulder and his breathless voice. 

"Geez, I keep forgetting how fast you run..."

"Maybe you should stop trying to catch up then," Alya remarked coolly, without looking at him. 

She felt his hand stiffen on her shoulder and then drop away. "You know we could actually talk about this instead of blowing everything up right?" he said in a curt tone from behind her. 

Alya's hand tightened on her bag strap. She was so not ready to talk about this. 

Silence filled the air around them and departing students gave them a wide berth. Maybe Hawkmoth really could feel the negative emotions he professed to feed on. She sure as hell could right now. At last she spoke. 

"You knew I was like this when we started seeing each other," Alya said. "I don't understand why this is any different now. If anything, I would expect you to be proud of me. Especially since only one of us here is actively trying to stop the person who hurt us."

"That is _not_ fair and you know it, Alya" Nino muttered dully from behind. "Just because I want you to be safe and I want you to stay alive doesn't mean I don't care about Hawkmoth. I care about you, I love you." 

"That's not really playing fair either is it?" Alya said, her words and mouth becoming detached from her body. "Just because you love me doesn't mean you get to tell me what I can and can't do. Not when it comes down to this, to Hawkmoth." 

Silence again. 

"I was waiting for you to apologize for leaving your friends in the dark and almost getting yourself killed," Nino said angrily. 

"Well then you're going to wait for a long time," Alya said before walking away. 

It was not until she was a full block away that the tears began to fall from her face. Sad and angry tears that spilled over her cheeks and fell silently to the pavement, unnoticed by the crowded city around her. 

\-----

Alya pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed audibly into her phone's mouthpiece. Four hours and a phone call from Marinette later, and she was now starting to feel extremely guilty. 

"He is right you know," Marinette said over the phone. "You running off all the time scares the crap out of us. I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir are worried about your safety too since they see you so often." 

Alya grimmaced and flopped back on her bed. "It's my job, Mari," she said. "If I'm not going to be there then who is? You know these reporters never get the story right. They're always too focused on Ladybug's fashion choices or the 'star-crossed-lovers' thing between her and Chat." 

"Okay firstly," said Marinette, "It's a job you gave to yourself. And secondly what's wrong with Ladybug's outfit?"

"I don't know, I think I saw someone say that it was too revealing or something?"

"What! She's a superhero! Don't you think she needs as few accessories as possible? That she needs to have an aero-dynamic suit that will--- You know what, I'm not having this discussion right now." Despite her mood, Alya chuckled at Marinette's mini rant, that girl could really talk your ear off about fashion. 

"So are you going to apologize to him?"

_Ah the $100 euro question..._

"Why should I?"

"Um, because he deserves an apology?" Marinette said. "You weren't there after we couldn't get into the school. The guy was a wreck, he actually tried to pry that desk away from the entrance so he could go in after you. If he hadn't jimmied open the emergency exit I don't know what he would've done." 

Alya tried to ignore the heart pangs that gave her. "Mari, I had to go in," she said. 

"But why, Alya? You get enough of their fights recorded as it is. If this is about getting more hits on your webpage I assure you there's better ways to---."

"It's not that!" Alya said angrily before pulling herself up short. 

Marinette's voice paused and, when she spoke again, she held a sort of hurt curiosity in her tone. "Then what is this all about?"

"I just---. You wouldn't understand, Marinette!"

"What could I possibly not understand?" Marinette said now, hurt apparent in her voice. "It's not like we haven't been friends forever, or that I don't know you, or that you can't trust me. What could you possibly say that I wouldn't understand?"

"You haven't been akumatized." 

_Shit_.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Mari, I didn't mean it like that," Alya desperately tried to backtrack. "I just...I mean those people need help and...I need to...". She trailed off, completely lost and not know what to say.

"...how long have you felt like this?" said Marinette's voice softly. Silence on Alya's end really wasn't helping her. "Oh, Alya." 

Pity definitely made it worse. 

"Mari, it's okay, really," Alya mumbled. "I...I need to figure out how to stop him. Hawkmoth. He...he's a very evil man."

Marinette snorted at the understatement of the century, but it gave Alya the courage to keep going. 

"Look," she said "Ladybug and Chat Noir can fight him all they want. But they're doing it at the risk of their lives, their identities. And I don't know if you've noticed, but these attacks have been happening for almost two years now and they're no closer to finding Hawkmoth."

She thought of Adrien, taking this burden all on and almost wanted to cry at how difficult it must be for him and Ladybug. 

"I wouldn't say they're no closer," Marinette mumbled uncertainly.

"In the two years this has been happening they always say the same thing," Alya said while shaking her head. "We've got this. We're keeping Paris safe. We're going to stop Hawkmoth. But it hasn't happened yet. It may never happen."

"I mean, they've been keeping Paris safe..."

"For now. What if Hawkmoth has a new strategy? What if he gets someone on his side? What if their identities are discovered before they discover his?"

Silence.

"This is the only thing I can do, Marinette," said Alya seriously. "The only thing that's stopping me from straight up trailing Ladybug and Chat Noir at this point is because I have respect for their privacy. Hawkmoth does not."

"I can help them," she continued. "I can help them end all of this. I can do something to make a difference."

"But how can you help them if you get hurt or worse?" Marinette said quietly.

Silence again from Alya.

It was Marinette's turn to sigh. "Please apologize to Nino, Alya," she said. "I'm not going to stop you from pursuing Hawkmoth. I know I can't, and honestly at this point I don't want to. But he doesn't deserve this anger from you just because he actually cares about you." 

Alya bit her lip. She hated it when Marinette was right. It usually meant the world was going to end soon.

\--------

Later, much later, after several rounds of tears and a few more angry words, Alya and Nino sat curled up in a bench next to the Seine. They clutched at each other and for once their silence was not marred by unspoken things, but rather relief. 

"Just promise me that you'll try to work out some sort of hand signal with me or something," Nino said while he touched his head to Alya', "for the next time you go rushing off into danger." 

Alya smiled gently into the quiet and closed her eyes to breathe in the moment of calm. 

"Maybe we should copy Adrien and go with finger guns." 

 

 


End file.
